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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


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IM 

12.0 

1.8 


1.25 

1.4 

1.6 

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► 

Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

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> 


6^ 


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t-P^ 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  ln*>titut  canadien  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  mey  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


H 


D 


D 


D 
D 


D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


r~7]    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommag^e 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurie  et/ou  peliicul6e 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


Cartes  g6ographiques  en  couleur 


Coloured  Ink  (i.e.  otht  -  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bieue  ou  noire) 


I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
ReliA  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reiiure  serr^e  peut  causer  de  i'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  ie  long  de  la  marge  intArieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
ii  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouties 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  ie  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  ittah  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  M  filmies. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplAmentaires; 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  At6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibiiographique.  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  imuge  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  methods  normale  de  fiimage 
sont  indiquAs  ci-dessous. 


□    Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

□    Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^ss 

D  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restauries  et/ou  pelliculAes 

i 

□    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  ddcolories,  tacheties  ou  piqu^es 

□    Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

□    Shcwthrough/ 
Transparence 

I      I    Quality  of  print  varies/ 


Quaiiti  inigaie  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplAmentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponibie 


D 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refiimed  to 
ensure  the  bast  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  fiimies  A  nouveau  ca  fapon  A 
obtenir  la  meiileure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmA  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqui  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

' 

22X 

26X 

SOX 

7 

12X                              16X                              20X                              24X                              28X                              32X 

The  copy  filmed  hare  haa  baan  raproducad  thanks 
to  tha  ganarotity  of: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 


L'axamplaira  filmi  fut  raproduit  grAca  A  la 
gAnArotitA  da: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  o(  British  Columbia 


Tha  imagas  appearing  hare  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Les  imagas  suivantas  ont  AtA  raproduites  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nattetA  de  Texemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformity  avac  les  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  covt  r  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


Les  exemplairas  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimAe  sont  filmAs  en  commen^ant 
par  la  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derniire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exempleires 
originaux  sont  film^s  en  commandant  par  la 
premiAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derniire  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  —^  (meaning   'CON- 
TINUED ").  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning   "END  "), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ^»  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmis  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  filmA  d  partir 
de  Tangle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  h  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n^cessaire   Les  diagrammas  suivants 
illustrent  la  m^thode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

Letters  from  Alaska 


AND 


The  Pacific  Coast, 


BY 


Horace  Briggs,  Ph.  D. 


BUFFALO 

1889. 


m  *^  '58 


':J^^^^.^  of   <£i.  cK.  cKntc^inaon, 
aSuffcfo,  ?fl.  ei|. 


\f 


.  I'  i>    *;    '■'  •! 


PREFACE 


loST  of  the  letters  eirjbraced  iq  this  panqphlet, 

describing  the  places  oq  the  Pacific  coast   visited 
by    my    father,     have    already     appeared     iq    tf]e 

Commercial  Advertiser  of  this  City, 

They  are  re-published  iq  this  form,  with  some 
additioqs  aqd  clqaqges,  in  the  belief  that  tF]ey 
wii!  coqtribute  sonqething  to  the  general  kqowl- 
edge  of  a  very  interesting  portion  of  our  vast 
don\aiq, 

Dora  Briggs  North 

SI  PARK  PLACE, 
Buffalo,  January,  f888. 


2.06064 


.  I 


CO  NT  ENTS. 


PAQC 

Oregon          .          .  '       . 

.    '            9 

Portland.   Oregon     .     •    . 

14 

An^erica's  Venice 

.      18 

Alaska            .         . 

23 

Sitkr          .          .■        . 

.       32 

Tl^e  Greek  Church 

40 

Natives  of  Alaska      . 

.       43 

The  Sitkan   Mission         .          . 

54 

The  Story  of  Metlakahtia  . 

.61 

Puget  Sound         .           •          •     .     • 

71 

A  Lesson   iq  Geography     . 

.        78 

OREGON. 


The  Geology  -  Climate  .-Geography  --  The  Wool 
Tariff  --  Vis-a-vis  with  a  Panther. 


John  Day  Valley, 

April,    1888 


•  l 


The  whole  State  is  a  lava-bed,  and  for  that  matter,  so  is  a 
large  part  of  Idaho.  Utah,  and  Nevada.  The  great  need  of 
these  territories  and  states  is  water,  and  as  this  can  be  distri- 
buted by  irrigation  on  limited  tracts  only,  the  vast  areas  of 
upland  which  cover  most  of  theii  surface  must  remain  unpro- 
ductive. 

If  the  plow-share  of  reconstruction  had,  in  past  geological 
ages,  scooped  out  the  country  between  the  Rockies  and  the  Si- 
erras, from  the  Columbia  River  to  the  Gulf  of  California,  let- 
ting in  an  arm  of  the  Pacific  six  hundred  miles  wide,  and  leav- 
ing the  few  fertile  spots  as  islands,  we  believe  the  territory 
on  each  side  of  this  supi)Osed  gulf  would  be  much 
more  productive  than  now  3  that  it  would  more  than  off- 
set'the  loss  of  so  much  sapd.  The  eastern  part  of  Ore- 
gon would  be  included  in  this  inland  sea,  and  the  brown  hills 
now  affording  scanty  grass  foi  ]ii<  J^ent  demands,  and  the  Blue 
Mountains  sparsely  covered  wil!i  (-'low  pine  trees,  would  go  to 
fill  up  some  of  the  fathomless  cavi.ns  in  the  great  Western  ocean. 
But  Oregon,  of  which  I  wish  pr  .u  alarly  to  speak,  is  as  it  is, 
that  is,  it  was  left  in  a  tumble  vhen  its  surface  cooled, 
so   that   there  is  little  of  level  land  in  all  its  ninety  thousand 


10 


square  miles.  The  Mlue  Mountains  and  their  foothills  are 
scattered  wildly  over  nearly  two-thirds  of  its  surface ;  the 
Cascade  range,  and  fifty  miles  further  west,  the  Coast 
range,  traversing  the  State  from  north  to  south,  together 
with  their  adjoining  lands,  occupy  the  other  third. 
The  Cascade  range,  a  continuation  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  is 
appropriately  named,  for  waterfalls  mark  its  course  from  South- 
ern California  to  British  Columbia,  the  most  noted  of  which  are 
those  of  the  Yosemite  Valley,  but  the  most  picturesque  of  then 
all  is  the  Multnomah  Falls,  near  che  Columbia.  The  stream, 
twice  the  size  of  the  Scajaquada  at  Main  Street,  plunges  in  a 
white  foam,  down  a  fall  of  basalt,  seven  hundred  feet,  and  is 
kept  nearly  uniform  in  size  all  the  way  down  by  fringes  of  vines 
and  mosses  which  are  always  green.  Then  again,  two  tall, 
shapely  trees  in  the  foregro  nd  frame  the  whole  in  a  picture  of 
exquisite  beauty  surpassing  iviinnehaha,  Giesbach,  or  the  Bridal 
Veil  in  the  Yosemite. 

The  Columbia  river,  in  carving  its  way  through  the  Cas- 
cades, has  left  many  pinnacles,  castles  and  towers,  standing  en- 
tirely isolated  from  the  massive  walls  of  the  range,  and,  at  a 
distance,  looking  like  works  of  art.  One  of  these.  Castle 
Rock,  has  quite  a  tree  growing  from  its  apex.  This,  from  its 
unapproachable  position,  has  been  named  the  tree  of  Forbidden 
Fruit,  a  fragment  left  of  Eden.  From  his  propensity  to  over- 
come what  are  usually  regarded  as  impossibilities,  some  Yankee 
will  doubtless  invent  a  method  of  scaling  this  cone,  and  plant 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  a  hundred  feet  above  the  valley. 

The  lava,  on  cooling,  here  crystallized  in  the  usual  form 
of  all  basaltic  rocks,  when  not  amorphous — that  of  five-sided, 
sometimes  four-sided,  prisms. 

These  columns  are  usually  in  a  perpendicular  position,  and 
rarely  more  than  fifty  feet  in  length.  Packed  together  as  they 
are  with  lines  of  stratification  only  to  separate  them,  they  form 


11 


r  foothills  are 
8  surface  ;  the 
t,  the  Coast 
south,  together 

other  third, 
ra  Nevadas,  is 
se  from  South- 
;d  of  which  are 
resque  of  ther-. 
The  stream, 

plunges  in  a 
ed  feet,  and  is 
fringes  of  vines 
gain,  two  tall, 
in  a  picture  of 
1,  or  the  Bridal 

rough  the  Cas- 
s,  standing  en- 
inge,  and,  at  a 
these.  Castle 
This,  from  its 
;  of  Forbidden 
ensity  to  over- 
,  some  Yankee 
one,  and  plant 
illey. 

ihe  usual  form 
t  of  five-sided, 

•  position,  and 
3gethcr  as  they 
lem,  they  form 


the  massive  walls  on  each  side  of  the  river  rising  tier  after  tier 
upon  the  ones  below,  for  hundreds  of  feet. 

At  Shoshone  Falls  in  Idaho,  this  columnar  structure  pre- 
sents a  wall  a  thousand  feet  high,  and  nearly  six  miles 
in  length.  The  valley  of  the  VVillamstte  river  between 
the  Coast  and  Cascade  ranges,  fifty  m  'es  in  width  and 
extending  far  to  the  south,  is  the  garden  of  Oregon.  A 
crop  of  wheat,  oats,  flax,  and  potatrt  ,,  can  confidently  be  ex- 
pected if  planted  with  any  care,  and  apple  .  pears  and  cherries 
are  as  prolific  and  of  as  fine  a  quality  is  can  be  found  in  any 
state  on  the  continent. 

Indeed,  the  soil  from  lava  is  well  known  to  be  fertile  and 
adapted  to  fruit  culture.  The  vineyards  around  Mt.  Vesuvius 
and  Mt.  yEtna  are  fruitful  yet,  after  the  cropping  of  a  thousand 
years,  and  the  soil  of  Oregon  is  not  an  exception. 

The  vapors  arising  from  the  Pacific  are  precipitated  by  the 
lofty  range  of  the  Cascades  so  freely  that,  in  most  seasons,  rains 
fall  as  frequently  as  in  England,  and  the  residents  of  Willamette 
valley  are  hence,  by  way  of  derision  and  envy,  called  "  Web- 
feet"  by  the  people  east  of  this  range, — by  envy,  because 
the  clouds,  squeezed  of  their  moisture,  by  the  cold  peaks  of 
the  mountains  on  the  west,  are  rainless  to  them. 

Nearly  the  whole  of  the  State  has  a  rich  soil,  but  the  west- 
tern  third  only  is  favored  with  moisture  enough  to  render  crops 
certain  without  irrigation,  and  this  must  be  confined  to  narrow 
valleys. 

The  Columbia,  called  in  Thanatopsis  the  Oregon,  drains 
an  immense  territory,  having  its  main  sources  in  British  Co- 
lumbia and  in  the  Yellowstone  National  park.  Its  chief  tribu- 
taries are  the  Spokane,  Snake,  John  Day,  Deschutes  and  the 
Willamette.  Much  the  larger  part  of  the  175,000  people  in  the 
Stale  are  to  be  found  along  the  valleys  of  these  rivers.  They 
are  cosmopolitan,  tracing  their  origin  and  nationality  to  Spain, 


12 


1  , 


Palestine,  Germany,  Ireland   England,  New  York,  and  last  but 
not  least,  to  Chinas 

An  old  resident  slv  ;.  bhrewd  observer  of  the  times,  re- 
marked that  "  the  Jews  anu  i  ._  Chinamen  have  got  this  coast." 

The  shekels  are  in  the  h  r.is  of  the  former,  and  "  John  " 
has  captured  the  labor.  ,  Tiu-  is  a  "new  country"  and  fortunes 
must  be  made  by  somebody,,  irn]  the  Hebrews,  who  have  always 
been  a  thrifty  people,  secure  i!  em  ;  but  they  also  cling  to  their 
gains  with  great  tenacity,  and  are  hence  called  "  Mossbacks, " 
for  their  want  of  public  spirit. 

**  John  "  is  insulted  on  the  'lightest  provocation,  or  even 
without  excuse.  Cities  enact  ordinances  discriminating  against 
him,  and  he  is  boycotted,  bur  he  swings  along  the  streets  with 
easy  gait,  peddles  vegetables  that  are  fresher  and  crisper  than 
the  natives  furnish,  has  plenty  of  washing  in  spite  of  **  white 
laundries,"  is  almost  the  only  laborer  on  the  railroad  tracks,  is 
on  the  farm  and  in  the  kitchen,  works  over  old  placer  beds,  and 
thrives  on  what  would  cause  a  "strike"  among  Hibernians. 
The  patois  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  is  an  interesting  study 
for  the  philologist.  For  instance,  a  farm  is  a  "  ranch,  "  a  fry- 
ing-pan is  a  "  skillet,"  a  pail  is  a  **  bucket,"  a  flock  or  a  herd 
is  a  "  band,  "  and  to  carry  is  to  "  pack,  "  as  when  one  brings 
water  from  a  spring  he  is  said  to  "  pack  "  it.  At  one  place  in 
John  Day  Valley  where  I  staid  a  few  days,  bread  was  passed  to 
me  in  a  ' 'steamer"  in  which  it  had  been  moistened  and  warmed, 
for  cold  or  stale  bread  is  rarely  seen  on  their  tables.  My  tea 
was  brewed  in  a  can,  the  label  on  which  was  "  Sugar  Corn, 
Bangor,  Me.,  "  and  the  hostess  poured  coffee  for  another  guest 
labelled  "  Deviled  Turkey,  "  both  the  devil  and  the  turkey  ap- 
pearing as  a  part  of  the  illuminated  label.  The  great  industry 
east  of  the  Cascades  was  once  the  rearing  of  cattle,  but  within 
a  few  years,  sheep  have,  in  great  degree,  replaced  them  and  ru- 
ined the  country  for  grazing,  by  their  close  cropping  and  sharp 


)rk,  and  last  but 

3f  the  times,  re- 
got  this  coast. " 

r,  and  "  John  " 
y  "  and  fortunes 
who  have  always 
so  cling  to  their 
"  Mossbacks/' 

Dcation,  or  even 
ninating  against 
the  streets  with 
ind  crisper  than 
spite  of  "  white 
lilroad  tracks,  is 
placer  beds,  and 
3ng  Hibernians, 
nteresting  study 
ranch,  "  a  fry- 
i  flock  or  a  herd 
vhen  one  brings 
At  one  place  in 
id  was  passed  to 
led  and  warmed, 
tables.  My  tea 
s  **  Sugar  Corn, 
or  another  guest 
d  the  turkey  ap- 
I  great  industry 
ittle,  but  within 
;d  them  and  ru- 
pping  and  sharp 


13 

hoofs.  President  Cleveland's  wool  tariff  has  made  every  sheep- 
owner  a  republican.  Canned  goods  and  eastern  bacon  com- 
prise a  large  part  of  the  edibles  of  cattle-producing  regions,  and 
the  stream  of  immigration  and  travel  can  easily  be  traced  by 
the  long  line  of  empty  tin  cans  and  Milwaukee  beer-bottles. 

The  gloryof  Oregon  is  its  climate.  There  is  scarcely  a 
day  in  the  year  in  which  the  sun  does  not  shine.  Winter  lasts 
about  five  weeks  only.  The  air  east  of  the  Cascade  range  is 
dry  and  highly  aromatic,  for  no  trees  of  any  size  but  evergreens 
are  to  be  found.  In  these  forests,  usually  on  mountains  and 
foot-hills,  few  dangerous  wild  animals  remain.  Occas- 
ionally one  does  appear  to  render  the  situation  inter- 
esting, especially  to  one  who  is  unarmed.  Permit  me  here  to 
illustrate,  even  at  the  price  of  using  the  pronoun  in  the  first 
person.  During  a  journey  of  a  hundred  miles  over  the  IJlue 
Mountains  by  stage,  of  which  the  driver  and  I  were  the  only  oc- 
cupants, about  two  o'clock  one  morning,  a  long-bodied,  short- 
legged  animal  darted  out  from  the  shadow  of  a  clump  of  bushes 
into  the  moonlight,  thirty  yards  from  the  st;ige,  which,  by  the 
way,  was  an  uncovered  buck-board,  and  began  to  lash  his  tail. 
At  first  I  was  startled  and  asked  the  driver  if  he  was  armed. 
He  had  a  pistol  of  a  large  caliber,  but  refused  to  use  it,  or  per- 
mit me  to  try  my  skill  at  our  companion,  through  fear  of  ren- 
dering the  horses  unmanageable.  "  If  you  should  wound  the 
panther,"  for  such  he  was,  "he  would  raise  a  cry,  and  no  horse 
in  Oregon  would  abide  his  yell.  "  His  reasons  were  of  such 
force  that  I  conlented  myself  by  watching  the  beast  as  he  trotted 
along  on  the  snow  nearly  parallel  with  the  road,  and  kept  a 
sharp  eye  upon  us.  Intense  interest  soon  took  the  place  of  my 
fright,  for  I  had  my  first  opportunity  of  seeing  so  formidable 
an  animal  in  his  native  wilds,  and  I  deeply  regretted  that  he 
parted  company  in  that  lonely  forest  after  having  been  vis-a-vh 
with  us  for  more  than  three  miles. 


4 


PORTLAND,  OJEIEGON. 


Rapid  Growth--  Enterprise  --  Mt.  Hood--  Mt.  St.  Helens. 


1  ! 


Portland,  May,  1888. 

This  aspiring  city,  tiie  metropolis  of  Oregon,  is  situated 
on  the  Willamette  river,  a  dozen  miles  from  its  confluence  with 
the  Columbia,  and  a  hundred  miles  from  the  sea. 

It  has  a  population  of  about  45,000  made  up  chiefly  of 
**  Eastern  people,  "  Hebrews  and  "  Celestials,  "  and  is  a  good 
example  of  the  rapid  growth  of  American  towns  ;  for,  forty- 
five  years  ago,  the  site  was  a  general  rendezvous  of  the  native 
tribes  that  held  undisputed  possession  of  nearly  all  this  part  of 
the  Pacific  coast. 

The  Willamette  Valley,  the  most  fertile  portion  of  the  State, 
has  contributed  much  to  make  Portland  what  it  is,  besides 
bringing  into  being  and  supporting  several  other  flourishing 
towns  like  Salem,  the  capital,  Albany,  Eugene  and  Corvallis. 

It  is  built  upon  a  slope  rising  gently  and  running  back  a 
mile  to  a  line  of  steep  hills  or  bluffs  which  nearly  hem  in  the 
town  on  three  sides.  This  slope  has  been  so  nearly  occupied, 
that  the  town  has  begun  to  climb  the  bluffs,  and  the  growth  in 
that  direction  will  be  aided  by  a  cable  road  now  nearly  com- 
pleted. These  hills  are  slashed  with  deep  ravines,  hence  the 
new  growth  will  be  on  very  uneven  ground. 

The  city  is  laid  out  in  squares,  about  400  feet  on  each  side, 
w'ich  generally  observe  the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass, 
and   are   bordered  by  a  vigorous  growth  of  poplar,  maple,  and 


t.  St.  Helens. 


D,  May,   1888. 

311,  is  situated 
onfluence  with 

e  up  chiefly  of 
'  and  is  a  good 
ns  ;  for,  forty- 
s  of  the  native 
all  this  part  of 

an  of  the  State, 
Lt  it  is,  besides 
ler  flourishing 
id  Corvallis. 
unning  back  a 
\x\y  hem  in  the 
tarly  occupied, 
I  the  growth  in 
)w  nearly  com- 
ines,  hence  the 

t  on  each  sidej 
f  the  compass, 
ar,  maple,  and 


1 


15 

locust  trees,  giving  it  quite  the  appearance  of  an  eastern  city. 
Few  of  the  streets  are  paved,  macadam  and  gravel  covering 
the  greater  number. 

Business  blocks,  about  three  stories  high,  are  of  brick, 
but  much  the  larger  number  of  all  its  structures  is  of  fir,  which 
clothes  the  Pacific  coast  from  California  to  the  Arctic  circle, 
and  like  nearly  all  the  evergreens,  have  a  trace  of  the  same 
color,  pale  red,  as  the  Sequoias  of  the  Nevada  range.  The 
Chinook  Salmon  seems  to  have  tinged  fish  and  flower  and  tree, 
as  gold  was  supposed  to  gild  the   waters  of  the  Pactolus. 

The  city  is  by  no  means  compactly  built,  the  residences  in 
particular,  having  large  grounds  around  them,  and  hence,  it 
has  a  decidedly  suburban  appearance.  The  only  notable  struc- 
ture is  the  High  School  Building,  and  that  is  nondescript  in 
architecture,  finical  with  mouldings  and  other  ornamentations, 
and  does  not  impress  the  spectator  with  the  idea  of  fitness  or 
solidity. 

Subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  half  a  million  have  been 
obtained  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  decent  hotel,  and  the 
subscribers  propose  to  utilize  the  foundation  laid  by  Mr.  yil- 
lard,  some  years  since,  when  he  controlled  the  finances  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  ;  and  the  progressive  men  of  the 
town  have  just  completed  a  Fair  Building  for  the  purpose  of 
displaying  the  products  of  the  coast. 

The  municipal  authorities  are  putting  forth  the  strongest 
efforts  to  absorb  East  Portland  and  Albina,  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  river,  and  they  also  hope  to  utilize  the  great  water-power  of 
Willamette  Falls,  a  dozen  miles  up  the  river,  either  by  dynamic 
or  electric  machinery,  for  manufactories,  few  of  which  Port- 
land has  yet  on  account  of  the  high  price  of  fuel.  Most  of  the 
manufactured  goods  found  on  her  markets  bear  labels  from 
towns  east  of  the  Mississippi. 

.'ortland  has  a  large  wholesale  and  jobbing  trade  with  Ore- 
gon,   Washington   Territory,    British    Columbia  and   Alaska, 


16 


It  I 


.—  t.: Z—     il — »~    4.-     <*rtP    f\nr\   nr\rs 1    it.~  „— i._;i 1 

aiiiuuiiiiijg    111    iiic    ctg^ic^citv;  lu  ■pou,yj\jKj ,\j\j\j,  aii(.(   no  ici<tii  scxica 

are  nearly  as  large. 

Altogether  this  is  a  lively,  enterprising  and  ambitious  town 
and  is  generally  disliked  by  its  rivals  because  of  its  boasting, 
and  bold  preteijsions. 

Young  men  are  now  coming  to  the  front,  and  demanding 
of  the  "  Mossbacks,  "  with  some  show  of  success,  more  liberal 
contributions  for  improvements  in  the  city,  for  attracting  trade, 
and  for  extending  her  lines  of  commerce  to  more  remote 
sources  of  supply  and  demand. 

Until  the  U.  S.  Government  gives  deeper  water  on  the  bar 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  vessels  of  over  2,000  tons  will 
not  be  able  to  reach  her  wharves,  and  her  trade  with  China  can- 
not therefore  attain  to  large  proportions.  Yet  she  has  a  large 
coasting  trade,  and  English  sailing  vessels  frequent  her  harbor 
for  lumber  and  salmon. 

The  Portlanders  are  hospitable  to  strangers.  The  far-see- 
ing, not  only  in  Portland,  but  even  in  Buffalo,  desiring  to  at- 
tract capital  and  population,  have  come  to  understand  that  a 
gejiial  welcome  to  a  new-comer  often  wins  more  than  a  formid- 
able array  of  facts  and  figures. 

There  is  malaria  on  the  alluvial  lands  along  the  river,  quite 
evident  from  the  sallow  faces  seen  on  the  streets  ;  hence,  qui- 
nine is  in  demand, — ^'Mix  it  with  our  dough,  "  remarked  a 
captain  of  one  of  the  river-boats. 

Take  it  all  in  all,  however,  it  is  a  bright,  active,  flourishing 
town,  having  more  pleasant  homes,  and  more  well-to-do  people 
in  proportion  to  the  number,  than  can  be  found  in  any  other 
this  side  of  the  Missouri  river. 

The  Portlanders  are  pardonably  proud  of  the  mountain 
views  from  their  upland  streets.  The  long  line  of  the  Cascade 
range,  to  the  east,  is  marked  by  such  peaks  as  Hood,  Jefferson, 
Adams  and  St.  Helens,  on  a  clear  day,  all  in  full  view. 


id  ambitions  town 
56  of  its  boasting, 

t,  and  demanding 

;cess,  more  liberal 

•r  attracting  trade, 

to   more   remote 

r  water  on  the  bar 
er  2,000  tons  will 
e  with  China  can- 
t  she  has  a  large 
equent  her  harbor 

ers.  The  far-see- 
lo,  desiring  to  at- 
understand  that  a 
ire  than  a  formid- 

ng  the  river,  quite 
eets  ;  hence,  qui- 
gh,  "  remarked  a 

ictive,  flourishing 
well-to-do  people 
3und  in  any  other 

of  the  mountain 
ne  of  the  Cascade 

Hood,  Jefferson, 
full  view. 


1^ 

T'u^  r~_ -._    1   1 .1   -     .1    -  /".  -         -  '1  -  1   •        1        1 

J.  ii\-   iv/iiii^i,   av^ctllCU   etllU  aCctlllCU  UllU   UllCll    vciicu   in  ClOUUS, 

towers  far  above  his  neighbors,  and,  from  under  his  crystal 
cap  hung  12,000  feet  in  air,  with  his  weather  eye  he  watches  J[ 
the  gambols  of  Pacific's  waves  seventy- five  miles  away.  He 
surveys  a  large  part  of  the  State,  catches  glimpses  of  Shasta 
in  California,  and  exchanges  nods  with  the  regal  Ranier  on 
Puget  Sound. 

His  sister,  Mt.  St.  Helens,  just  over  the  Columbia  in 
Washington  Territory,  is  almost  a  perfect  cone,  with  clear-cut, 
regular  sides.  She  stands  quite  alone,  supported  by  no  out- 
lying foot-hills,  and  her  isolation  challenges  instant  attention. 
With  her  feet  planted  in  a  sea  of  dark  evergreens,  she  lifts 
her  shapely  form  8,000  feet  cloud-ward,  and  down  to  the  base, 
is  robed  in  a  snowy  mantle  which  she  wears  the  entire  year.. 

For  symmetry  she  has  probably  no  equal  on  the  globe  ;  not 
even  that  queen  of  the  Alps,  the  Jungfrau,  ranks  her  in  this 
quality.  Turning  a  corner  of  almost  any  of  the  upper  streets  in 
Portland,  her  slender  form  suddenly  confronts  the  stranger  like 
a  specter  from  the  unseen  world — she  is  revealed  to  him  in  a  fig- 
ure striking  because  so  lofty,  matchless  in  proportions,  and  so 
chaste  in  color,  that  he  is  wont  to  stop  in  amazement,  and  then, 
like  the  pious  Chinook  Indian,  to  adore — to  worship  at  the 
shrine  of  peerless  beauty.  If  Constantine's  mother,  after 
whom  this  peak  was  doubtless  named,  is  correctly  typified  by 
it,  by  unquestionable  right  she  must  be  permitted  to  enjoy  her 
title,  Saint.  Just  before  sunset  she  exchanges  her  mantle  of 
spotless  white  for  one  of  delicate  pink,  then  for  that  of  saffron, 
and  as  the  sun  cuddles  down  into  the  Pacific  for  a  night's 
rest,  sheflashes  out  with  the  radiance  of  the  opal,  and  again, 
as  the  light  fades,  she  is  marble,  then  gray,  and  finally, 
steel-blue,  harmonizing  with  the  star-gemmed  sky.  She  is 
so  tall,  so  chaste  in  form  and  color,  the  contrast  between  the 
snowy  gem  and  the  dark  green  setting  is  so  striking,  she  is 
radiant  with  such  varied  hues,  and  there  is  so  much  of  grace 
in  her  general  appearance,  that  Parthena,  maiden,  ought 
to  have  been  her  baptismal  name  ;  her  resplendent  summit 
might  well  have  been  the  scene  of  the  Transfiguration,  or  the 
foot-stool  of  the  Ascension. 


rri  T* 


^F 


AMERICA'S  VENICE. 


il  ' 


Salmon  CatcTdng     Facking  Machinery  -  -  Going- 

a-Fishing. 


Astoria,  May,  1888. 

This  city,  made  famous  by  the  pen  of  Washington  Irving, 
is  situated  on  a  bay  of  the  Columbia  river,  about  six  miles  from 
the  sea.  Astoria  was  founded  in  1811,  by  John  Jacob  Astor, 
and  here  was  laid  the  foundation  of  the  fortune  of  the  present 
Astor  family  of  New  York,  whose  assets  are  counted  by  the  mil- 
lion. 

No  structure  remains  of  those  reared  by  the  first  settlerS; 
the  last  one  having  been  demolished  three  years  ago.  Its  sit{ 
is  still  pointed  out  to  strangers,  as  is  that  also  of  the  little  bat- 
tery  on  the  hill,  in  the  rear  of  the  settlement.  Astoria  is  th( 
Venice  of  the  great  Northwest,  for,  barring  a  few  building 
straggling  up  the  hill-sides,  it  is  built  out  over  the  river 
differing  from  the  city  of  the  Doges  in  this,  the  streets  an( 
walks  are  not  water  but  planks. 

By  reason  of  the  shallowness  of  the  water  inshore,  wharve 
and  bridges  to  them  were  of  necessity  made  at  a  distance  iron 
the  land,  and  soon  freight  houses  crept  up  on  piles  to  them 
and  now  the  intervening  space  between  the  wharves  and  th 
shore  is  occupied  by  other  buildings  that  go  to  make  a  city 
Cellars  are  above  high  water  mark,  and  the  sewerage  questio 
is  reduced  to  the  simple  problem  of  cutting  a  hole  in  the  floor 

The  streets,  raised  several  feet  above  the  water,  so  a 
to  be   out  of  reach    of  the   tides,  rumble  and  roar  as  vehicle 


1 


jsii- 


inery  -  -  Goin£- 


lSTORIA,  May,  1888. 

Washington  Irving, 
about  six  miles  from 
y  John  Jacob  Astor, 
Drtune  of  the  present 
!  counted  by  the  mil- 

I  by  the  first  settlers, 
e  years  ago.  Its  site 
also  of  the  little  bat*- 
nent.  Astoria  is  the 
ring  a  few  buildings 
out  over  the  river, 
this,  the  streets  and 

ater  inshore,  wharves 

ide  at  a  distance  from 

up  on  piles  to  them, 

the  wharves  and  the 

it  go  to  make   a  city. 

he  sewerage  question 

ig  a  hole  in  the  floor. 

)ve   the  water,   so  as 

and  roar  as  vehicles 


19 

trundle  over  them,  giving  forth  a  sound  similar,  doubtless,  to 
that  created  by  the  impious  Salmoneus,  when  he  attempted  to 
imitate  the  thunders  of  Jupiter. 

Why  this  city  should  not  have  grown  to  be  the  metropolis 
instead  of  Portland,  a  hundred  miles  inland,  is  one  of  the  un- 
answered questions  that  have  arisen  all  along  in  the  history  of 
commerce.  It  has  the  same  outlet  to  the  sea  as  its  rival,  and 
looks  out  upon  a  harbor  capacious  and  well-sheltered,  and  yet 
Portland  has  eight  times  its  wealth  and  population. 

The  chief  industry  here,  as  that  along  the  Columbia  for 
a  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  is  catching  and  canning  salmon. 
There  are  sixteen  hundred  nets,  each  from  twenty  to  twefity- 
four  hundred  feet  in  length,and  five  thousand  men,  employed  in 
this  work. 

In  this  ambitious  little  city  there  are  twenty-six  canneries, 
and  some  of  them  are  running  nights  to  ke.^  even  with  the 
catch,  and  you  count  as  many  more  of  these  manufactories  from 
here  to  the  Cascades.  The  boats  engaged  in  this  traffic  dot 
the  river  for  ninety  miles,  and  the  nets  are  so  thickly  scattered 
over  the  lower  part  of  the  Columbia,  that  vessels  with 
difficulty  pick  their  way  among  them  ;  in  fact,  steamers  get 
afoul  of  them,  and  ruin  more  or  less  of  them  every  day.  By 
a  law  of  the  State  these  nets  cannot  be  set  on  Sunday,  so  these 
luckless  fish  can  ascend  the  streams  unmolested  for  twenty-four 

hours. 

Fish-wheels,  thirty  and  forty  feet  in  diameter,  set  in  various 
places,  and  made  to  turn  on  their  axes  by  the  current,  pick  up, 
with  t'  eif  wire  nets,  boat-loads  daily. 

Salmon  scarcely  multiply  as  fast  as  they  are  caught,  for 
there  is  strong  proof  that  they  are  not  as  numerous  as  even  ten 
years  ago,  but  it  is  a  mystery  to  a  stranger  how  so  many  have 
escaped  nets,  wheels,  spears  and  r.nglers's  hooks  as  now  throng 
the  Columbia  and  its  tributaries. 


20 


ill 


It  is  almost  incredible  that  from  thirty  to  fifty  tons  of  thi 
royal  fish  are  caught  and  packed  every  day,  in  this  vicinity,  fo 
six  days  in  the  week,  and  this  continues  for  three  months.  Yoi 
readily  infer  that  salmon  are  cheap — they  sell  for  about  fiv( 
cents  per  pound  at  the  canneries,  and  at  the  markets,  choice 
steak  bring  only  ten. 

And  onr  infers,  also,  that  this  industry  must  bring  a  large 
revenue  to  this  and  to  the  states  bordering  on  the  Pacific,  foi 
migratory  fish  enter  all  the  streams  emptying  into  the  sea  fron 
California  to  the  Yukon  river  in  Alaska.  The  largest  part  o 
this  product  is  shipped  to  England. 

The  plant  for  canning  costs  from  two  to  eight  thousanc 
dollars.  All  the  labor,  performed  chiefly  by  Chinamen,  fron: 
the  tin  plates  to  the  illuminated  labels,  is  done  in  the  factory. 
Machinery  is  employed  to  cut  the  fish  into  proper  shapes,  to 
cook  them  in  the  great  "steamers,  "  to  transfer  them  from  one 
set  of  operations  to  another,  and  even  to  solder  the  cans.  This 
is  done  while  the  cans  roll,  one  after  the  other,  down  an  in- 
clined plane.  In  the  sides  of  this  plane,  along  which  each  end 
of  the  cans  just  graze,  there  is  a  groove  containing  melted  sol- 
der, and  as  they  roll  they  take  on  a  small  quantity  of  the  metal. 
This  is  done  at  the  rate  of  fifty  a  minute. 

The  refuse  of  the  cannery  goes  to  the  phosphate  manufac- 
tory, and  thus  every  part  of  the  fish  is  utilized.  Salmon  do  not 
bite  at  bait  or  a  fly  so  greedily  as  in  streams  which  they  fre- 
quent on  the  Atlantic  coast,  but  when  one  is  hooked  he  is  said 
to  be  quite  as  gamy  as  his  brethren  of  the  East.  And  now, 
indulgent  reader,  did  you  ever  go  a-fishing  ?  Taking  it  for 
granted  that  you  have  been,  and  that  therefore  you  will  the 
more  readily  grant  some  indulgence  to  a  fellow-angler,  I  take 
the  liberty  to  relate  a  bit  of  my  recent  experience  in  angling  at 
Willamette  Falls,  about  twelve  miles  from  Portland. 

For  an  hour  yesterday  the  smaller  fry  had  attempted  to  de- 
ceive  me   by  slight   twitches  at   my  hook,  but   the  nerve  that 


21 


y  to  fifty  tons  of  this 
r,  in  this  vicinity,  for 
r  three  months.  You 
;y  sell  for  about  five 
t  the  markets,  choice 

y  must  bring  a  large 
ig  on  the  Pacific,  for 
ing  into  the  sea  from 
The  largest  part  of 

(vo  to  eight  thousand 
by  Chinamen,  from 
done  in  the  factory, 
ito  proper  shapes,  to 
nsfer  them  from  one 
Ider  the  cans.  This 
e  other,  down  an  in- 
long  which  each  end 
ntaining  melted  sol- 
uantity  of  the  metal. 

phosphate  manufac-  ' 
zed.  Salmon  do  not 
jams  which  they  fre- 
is  hooked  he  is  said 
be  East.  And  now, 
ig?  Taking  it  for 
erefore  you  will  the 
'ellow-angler,  I  take 
Tience  in  angling  at 
'ortland. 

ad  attempted  to  de- 
but  the  nerve  that 


trembles  along  the  line  quickly  recognizes  the  minnow  or  the 
Aionster,  and  hence  moves  no  hand  by  feeble  nibblings. 
The  river  below  the  Falls  was  unruffled,  the  afternoon  was 
drowsy,    and  the  disciple  of  the  genial  Isaac  Walton  was  in 

i    sympathy  with  the  hour  and  was  almost  dozing.     There  1  that 

f  was  a  jerk  that  almost  left  him  without^a  rod,  and  it  called  into 
play  every  nerve  in  fish  and  fisher — one  eager  for  triumph,  and 
the  other  fighting  for  life. 

The  line  began  to  map  out  bewildering  curves  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  placid  stream  ;  it  hissed  in  the  sockets  ;  the  angler 
tried  to  check  its  outwaid  flight,  and  his  bleeding  fingers  re- 
buked  his  temerity — only  ten  feet  of  it  left,  and  still  he  called 

i     for  more.     He  struck  out  in  pirouettes  and  the  river  was  in  a 

I  foam.  He  leaped  from  his  element  as  if  he  were  a  water-fowl. 
His  gyrations  in  the  air  took  the  form  of  parabolas  and  hyper- 
bolas,  and  his  sheeny  sides  flashed  like  a  reflector.     Then   he 

;     dropped  like  lead  fathoms  down  and  the  rod  was  a  crescent. 

^  The  reel  derricked  him  from  the  depths  and  away  he  flew  till 
the  angler,  blanched  with   terror,  noted  that  almost  the  last 

\  foot  of  the  hundred  was  again  spent ;  but  joy  came  when  the 
captive  gave  him  six  inches  of  grace  and  began  to  return— not 
perfect  joy,  for  he  made  toward  his  captor  with  terrific  velocity 
that  he  might  take  advantage  of  the  slack.  His  trick  failed, 
and  chagrined  at  his  defeat,  again  he  leaped  into  the  air  and 
revealed  through  his  scales  the  pink  blood  brought  to  the 
surface  by  his  struggles. 

Then  he  churned  the  river  into  froth  again.  Will  the  line 
stand  the  strain,  will  the  leader  bear  another  tussle,  and  will  the 
Limerick  be  true  to  its  reputation  ?  Again  the  reel  whizzed, 
the  sockets  smoked,  and  the  rod  tossed  like  a  tree  in  a  tempest. 
Will  he  never  yield  ?  Twenty-five  minutes,  the  Indian  guide 
said,  the  battle  raged,  and  then,  as  he  told  off"  the  periods,  five 
more,  then  one  long  breathless  minute  and  the  royal  Chinook 
permitted  himself  to  be  drawn  up  on  the  sand  1 


1        !'' 


!i  i 


'I  I 


,  22 

This  was  my  first  salmon,  and  he  was  a  magnificent  fellow  ; 
shapely,  broad  in  the  back,  muscular,  and  so  beautiful  in  the 
sweep  of  his  lines  that  no  moulding  could  improve  his  form. 
ATid  the  thought  that  such  a  right  royal  feUow  was  my  captive, 
thrilled  my  whole  being  with  exultation.  How  gloriously  he 
fought,  and  how  I  trembled  from  the  battle  !  liut  what  had  I 
done  ?  Ihad  slain  the  king  of  his  tribe,  and  as  he  lay  quiet  at 
my  feet,  I  sincerely  wished  I  could  restore  so  noble  a  creature, 
and  give  him  one  more  chance  for  his  life.  Was  it  cruel  ?  Did 
you  have  lamb  for  dinner?  The  fish  had  an  alternative — the 
lamb  had  no  choice — he  was  assassinated.  He  weighed — you 
don't  catch  me  there  ;  but  he  did  carry  avoirdupois  enough,  he 
wielded  muscle  and  nerve  enough  to  make  me  glad  that  he  did 
not  weigh  more.  This  is  not  a  fish  story.  It  is  simply  an 
attempt  to  record  my  appreciation  of  the  endurance,  the 
symmetry  and  the  noble  qualities  of  the  princely  Chinook.  He 
was  as  brave  as  he  was  beautiful,  superb  in  battle  and  king.y  in 
submission.  .  , 

If,  in  the  great  day  of  final  adjudication  for  fishes  in  the 
hyaline  courts  of  Nereus,  his  conduct  in  life  should  be  called 
in  question,  I  shall  be  glad  to  be  summoned  as  a  witness  to  tes- 
tify to  his  peerless  character.  He  deserves,  to  change  the  my- 
thology, a  conspicuous  place  in  the  Valhalla  of  all  the  worthies 
that  ever  sported  and  fought  valiantly  in  mundane  waters. 

For   myself,  there   can  be  but  few  pleasures,  in  the  way  of 
sports,  in  store  for  me,  after  such  a  victory.     I  have  "  squeezed 
the   best   drop  from   the  orange,  "  and  am  almost  prepared  to 
sing,  "  Nunc  dimittds.  " 


! 


g^gfejMjjrrjuffiiiiiiniiiiiwwM 


magnificent  fellow  ; 
\  so  beautiful  in  the' 
fl  improve  his  form. 
o\v  was  my  captive, 

How  gloriously  he 
e  !  But  what  had  I 
id  as  he  lay  quiet  at 
so  noble  a  creature, 

Was  it  cruel  ?    Did 

an  alternative — the 
He  weighed — you 
rdupois  enough,  he 
me  glad  that  he  did 
i'  It  is  simply  an 
the  endurance,  the 
icely  Chinook.  He 
battle  and  kingiy  in 

• 

ion  for  fishes  in  the 
ife  should  be  called 
[  as  a  witness  to  tes- 
to  change  the  my- 
.  of  all  the  worthies 
mdane  waters, 
sures,  in  the  way  of 
I  have  "  squeezed 
almost  prepared  to 


ALASKA. 


Mr.  Seward's  Great  Bargain--  E.vtent  of  its  Terri- 
tory --  A  Rich  Gold  Mine  --  Land- Locked,   Waters 
--Fishini  Groands  Unlimited  -  The  Towrist's 
Delight--  The  Great  Glacier. 


Alaska,  June,  1888. 

From  a  financial   point  of  view,  did  Mr.    Seward  make  a 
mistake  in  the  purchase  of  Alaska  ?     This  is  a  question  which 
almost  every   tourist   will   ask,  and  happily,  it  is  one  which  is 
easily  answered  by  many  facts,     only  two  of  which  will  be  . 
named  here  : 

First :  The  fur  companies  that  lease  the  seal-producing 
islands  have  already  paid  into  the  United  States  treasury  more 
than  five  millions  of  dollars. 

Second  :  One  gold  mine  alone  could  not  be  bought  for 
Jthe  price  paid  for  the  territory. 

But  what  of  Alaska,  a  term  incognita  to  most  people  of  our 
country  ?  Well,  this  :  According  to  the  recent  estimates  by 
Major  Powell,  who  is  regarded  as  good  authority  in  the  geo- 
graphy of  the  territory,  it  embraces  as  much  land  all  the 
states  east  of  the  Mississippi.  It  has  the  highest  mountain  in 
I^orth  America,  Mt.  St.  Elias,  being  19,500  feet  high.  Its 
glaciers  are  vastly  greater  in  magnitude  than  those  in  Switzer- 
land, and  second  in  size  to  those  in  Greenland  only.  The 
Yukon  river  is  navigable  for  two  thousand  miles,  and  one 
t^iousand  miles  from  its  mouth  the  average  width  is  five  miles. 


24 


Attu,    the   most    westerly  of  the   Aleutian   islands,  is   farthe 
from  San  Francisco  than  Eastport,  in  Maine,  is. 

It  is  "the  land  of  the  midnight  sun,"  and  of  ice  and  snow 
The  cod  and  halibut  fisheries  are  practically  inexhaustible,  anc 
factories  for  canning  salmon  are  being  establishsd  on  almos 
every  channel  and  strait.  Prof.  Bean  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti 
tute  says  that  there  are  sixty  species  of  food-fishes  along  it: 
coast.  Of  the  numerous  gold  mines  already  discoveied,  th< 
Tread  well,  on  Douglas  Island  opposite  Juneau,  is  the  mos 
noted,  and  of  this  we  propose  to  speak  in  detail. 

It  is  not  a  mine  in  the  common  acceptation  of  that  term, 
but  a  quarry,  the  ore,  a  sulphuret  of  iron  and  gold  imbedded 
in  a  vein  of  bluish-white  quartz,  being  taken  from  the  side  of  a 
hill.  This  vein  is  two  hundred  and  forty  feet  in  width  and  ex- 
tends more  than  a  mile  over  the  hill,  showing  enough  at  the 
present  rate  of  quarrying  to  last  a  hundred  years. 

The  plant  now  consists  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  stamps, 
soon  to  be  doubled,  driven  by  water  power,  and  chlorination 
works;  and  the  present  output  is  about  $90,000  per  month. 
There  is  some  native  gold  whirh  is  collected  in  the  stamp-mill 
by  quicksilver,  but  much  the  larger  product  is  from  the 
chlor;'  lation  works  by  the  following  process  : 

'!  le  pulverized  product  of  the  stamps,  a  sulphuret  of  iron 
and  J  Id,  is  first  roasted  in  capacious  ovens,  in  which  the  sul- 
phur j  driven  off  by  heat,  leaving  an  amalgam  of  iron  and 
gold.  This  amalgam,  inclosed  in  huge  tanks,  is  saturated  with 
chlor  .ie  gas,  the  product  being  chloride  of  gold,  soluble  in 
water.  Leaching  brings  out  from  the  whole  mass  the  chloride 
of  gold  in  the  form  of  a  heavy  yellow  liquid.  The  addition  of 
a  few  drops  of  sulphate  of  iron  precipitates  the  metal  in  the 
form  of  a  black  residuum,  and  this  in  turn  is  reduced  in  the 
crucible  to  solid  gold. 

This  process  illustrates  the  part  that  chemistry  now  plays  in 
the  reduction  of  nearly  all  the  precious  metals  from  their  crude 


It 


88 


n  islands,  is  farther 
ine,  is. 

and  of  ice  and  snow, 
ly  inexhaustible,  and 
establishsd  on  almost 
lie  Smithsonian  Insti- 
"ood-fishes  along  its 
eady  discoveied,  the 
Juneau,  is  the  most 
detail. 

Nation  of  that  term, 
I  and  gold  imbedded 
n  from  the  side  of  a 
feet  in  width  and  ex- 
iving   enough  at  the 

years. 

I  and  twenty  stamps, 
er,  and  chlorination 
^90,000  per  month. 
!d  in  the  stamp-mill 
oduct  is  from  the 
i : 

a  sulphuret  of  iron 
IS,  in  which  the  sul- 
tnalgam  of  iron  and 
ts,  is  saturated  with 
of  gold,  soluble  in 
;  mass  the  chloride 
I.  The  addition  of 
es  the  metal  in  the 

is  reduced   in  the 

mistry  now  plays  in 
lis  from  their  crude 


i 


I 


i 


state.  Now,  inasmuch  as  most  of  the  gold  ores  of  this 
territory  are  sulphures,  the  methods  for  refining  in  other 
mines  are  similar  to  those  in  the  Treadwell  works. 

Iron  and  coal  have  been  found  in  great  abundance,  and 
copper,  lead,  silver  and  antimony  are  widely  distributed. 
Again  the  Alaskan  forests  will  "be  quite  as  valuable  as  the 
minerals  when  the  timber  regions  of  Oregon  and  Washington 
territory  shall  have  become  exhausted,  and  this  result,  at  the 
present  rate  of  denudation,  will  be  reached  in  the  near  future. 

Of  its  t  aiber  resources,  Secretary  Seward  thus  discouised: 
"  No  beam,  mast,  spar,  or  plank,  is  ever  required  in  land  or 
naval  architecture,  greater  in  length  or  size  than  can  be  had 
from  the  forests  of  Alaska,  and  in  close  proximity  to  navi- 
gable waters." 

\mong  the  marked  features  of  a  sail  through  the  numerous 
channels  that  abound  in  southeastern  Alaska,  not  the  least 
pleasing  to  the  eye  is  the  sight  of  the  vast  stretches  of  spruce 
and  black  fir-forests  clothing  the  hills  and  the  mountains  to  the 
snow  line  with  their  mantle  of  dark  green.  The  growth  is 
thick-set,  and  on  many  extensive  tracts  the  trees  attain  large 
size.  The  Pacific  states  from  Mexico  to  Behring  Sea  must 
soon  begin  to  draw  upon  these  resources  of  timber,  and  fortu- 
nate it  is  that  they  can  be  reached  by  vessels  of  great  burthen. 

Now,  .summing  the  resources  of  this  territory,  a  country 
abounding  in  furs  of  priceless  value,  in  mines  the  most  exten- 
sive in  our  broad  land,  in  almost  measureless  forests,  and  in  in- 
exhaustible fisheries,  and  all  this  in  our  indisputable  possession, 
it  would  seem  that  we  could  give  an  intelligent  answer  to  the 
question  which  heads  this  article.  From  a  commercial  stand- 
point did  Mr.  Seward,  in  negotiating  for  the  purchase  of  Alaska, 
over-estimate  the  advantage  to  this  country  ?  He  visited  this 
part  of  the  territory,  and  in  this  town,  Sitka,  publicly  declared 
that  he  wa'  gralified  with  the  transaction,  but  he  did  not  live 
to  know  of    the  treasures  that  have  since  been  revealed.     In 


26 


I'i 


11 

'jl  : 


l-!V 


fact,   little  was    known  of  the    richness  of    the  mines 
day,  and  next  to  nothing  of  the  wealth  in  fisheries,  whi 
now  regard  with  surprise.     If  the  Canadians  shall  persist 
policy  of  shutting  out  our  fishermen  on  t'      Atlantic  sea-l 
the  coasts  and  bays  of  the  Pacific  coast  will  more  than 
pensate   for   the    loss  we  may  sustain  through  their  pig-hi 
policy.    In  truth  Massachusetts  fisherman  are  already  here 
ing  a  rich  reward  of  their  labors.    Tons  ot  cod  are  to-day 
ing  on  the  frames,  barrels  of  halibut    are  on  the  docks  aw£ 
shipment,  and  salmon  canneries  are  packing,  in  the  aggre 
more   than  a  thousand  cases  daily ;  all  this  and    more   is 
Alaska  is  adding  to  the  wealth  of  the  world. 

This  is  something  about  the  territory  against  the  pur 
of  which  determined  opposition  found  expression  not  on 
the  cabinet  ofPresident  Lincoln  and  in  Congress,  but  in  h 
ed  editorials  and  in  "  magazine  thunders.  "  Jokes  passe 
facts,  and  senators  and  secretaries,  favorable  to  the  acquisi 
were  said  to  hold  their  sessions  by  moonlight  on  an  ice-bei 
Behring  sea  where  they  junketed  on  walrus-blubber. 

But  the  tourist  to  this  land  of  the  "  midnight  sun  " 
more  than  furs,  and  fishes,  and  mines.  From  the  head  of  F 
Sound  in  Washington  territory  to  Glacier  Bay  in  Alaska 
route  for  eleven  hundred  miles  is  through  some  one  of  1 
numberless,  narrow  straits,  broad  channels,  and  inland 
hemmed  in  by  islands  some  of  which  are  empires  in  area, 
headlands,  promontories,  and  hills  whose  rounded  sides 
clothed  in  dark  foliage,  and  mountains  whose  heads  are  usi 
veiled    in   white   mists,  and    whose  evergreen  skirts  trail  ir 

sea. 
,  '•  Hills  peep  o'er  hills,  and  Alps  o'py  Alps  arise'*  '  *  ":1^i  ■ 

**'  ''Almost  every  foot  of  land  is  in  a  grand  and  lofty  tun 
but  the  sheltered  waters  are  as  calm  as  a- pond  except  w 
they  are  broken  by  the  leaping  salmon  seeking  to   escape 


less  of    the  mines  in   his 
ilth  in  fisheries,  which  we 
adians  shall  persist  in  the 
)n  t'      Atlantic  sea-board, 
ast  will  more  than  comr 
through  their  pig-headed 
nan  are  already  here  reap- 
ns  ot  cod  are  to-day  dry- 
ire  on  the  docks  awaiting 
)acking,  in  the  aggregate, 
11  this  and    more  is  what 
world. 

tory  against  the  purchase 
id  expression  not  only  in 
1  Congress,  but  in  labor- 
lers.  "  Jokes  passed  for 
orable  to  the  acquisition, 
iniight  on  an  ice-berg  in 
ilrus-blubber. 

le  "  midnight  sun  "  sees 
From  the  head  of  Puget 
icier  Bay  in  Alaska,  his 
rough  some  one  of  these 
unels,  and  inland  seas, 
are  empires  in  area,  past 
hose  rounded  sides  are 
1  whose  heads  are  usually 
Tgreen  skirts  trail  in  the 


■ .  K'>  J..' ' 


<^  Alps  arise"  .  l.]U  .f,r,io-' 
grand  and  lofty  tumble, 
s  a' pond  except  whtjre 
seeking  to   escape  the 


27 

pursuit  of  the    murderous   porpoise,    and   even    he   in    turn  is 
chased  by  the  "killer"  whale. 

After  threading  the  narrows  of  British  Columbia,  the  voy- 
ager enters  Alaskan  waters,  and  then  fishing  villages,  quaint  in 
architectural  design,  newly-built,  and  picturesque  in  situation, 
appear  on  almost  eveiy  bay  and  fiord.  Besides  the  natives  who 
constitute  the  bulk  of  the  population,  here  reside  for  three 
months  in  summer,  factors  of  the  old  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
New  England  skippers,  and  Oregon  fisherman,  whose  Indian 
employees  scour  every  inlet  and  sound  and  bay,  every  day  in 
the  week  during  the  short  season,  and  gfther  a  rich  harvest  of 
salmon,  halibut,  and  cod. 

In  these  chill  waters,  fed  incessantly  by  the  mountain 
snows,  for  the  mountains  are  always  white,  the  finny  tribe  have 
a  firm  texture  of  fibre,  and  delicacy  of  flavor,  produced  only  in 
h'gh  latitudes  ;  and  the  fishes  that  he  sees  upon  the  docks,  and 
in  storehouses  are  almost  as  numberless  as  the  snow  flakes. 

Not  the  least  interesting  feature  of  an  Alaskan  trip  is  the 
sigh  ^  of  numerous  glaciers  treading  the  mountain  glens,  and 
filling  with  icy  mass,  from  two  hundred  to  a  thousand  feet  in 
thickness,  the  valleys  and  broad  basins. 

On  their  surface  they  are  heaved  into  hillocks,  split  into 
pinnacles,  ai»d  rent  by  yawning  crevasses,  and  go  crackling 
and  crunching,  and  growling  down  their  easy  slopes  ;  and  when, 
with  bold  and  glistening  front,  they  have  reached  the  channels, 
huge  masses  cleave  from  the  parent  glacier,  and  float  away  as 
icebergs,  so  numerous  that  the  steamer  is  often  obliged  to 
change  its  course  to  avoid  a  collision. 

The  color  of  these  wandering  masses  varies  from  a  dead 
white  to  ultramarine  and  sapphire,  and  they  too  are  often  sur- 
mounted with  turrets  and  cas'ellated  forms,  shapely  and  shape- 
less. 

The  most  notable  of  the  glaciers  in  southeastern  Alaska,  is 
the  Muir,  named  from  x'rof.  John  Muir,  a  geologist  of  some 


;:i 


28  •       . 

reputation,  since  he  gave  the  first  uncolored  description  of  it. 
It  is  forty  miles  long,  and  back  on  the  laiid,  in  a  basin  of  the 
mountains,  being  reiinforced  by  fifteen  tributaries  coming 
down  the  glens  from  dilTerent  points  of  the  compass,  it  swells  to 
an  Icy  sea  twenty-five  miles  in  diameter.  Thence  it  moves  with 
resistless  power,  bearing  rocks  and  long  lines  of  detritus  on 
its  billowy  surface.  Just  before  it  reaches  the  bay  it  is  com- 
pressed by  two  sentinel  mountains  into,  and  is  forced  through, 
a  gorge  one  mile  in  width. 

Emerging  from  this  narrow  gateway,  it  moves  on,  at  the 
rate  of  forty  to  sixty  feet  a  day,  to  the  waters  whence  it  ori- 
ginally came,  buttressing  the  bay  with  a  perpendicular  wall 
eight  hundred  feet  high,  three  hundred  feet  of  ultramarine. crys- 
tals tipped  with  purest  white  being  above  the  surface  ;  and 
being  pushed  beyond  its  support  in  the  underlying  rock,  a 
battle  begins  between  cohesion  and  gravity.  The  latter  force 
always  prevails,  and  vast  masses  break  from  the  glacial  torrent 
with  the  combined  crash  of  falling  walls  and  heavy  thunder,  and 
tumble  into  the  bay  with  a  dash  and  a  shock  that  agitates 
the  waters  miles  away,  making  navigation  perilous  to  craft  of 
all  sizes  The  almost  deafening  roar  made  when  these  masses 
are  rent  away,  the  splashing  baptism  they  receive  in  their  fall,  and 
the  leaping  waters,  are  lively  witnesses  to  the  birth  of  an  ic  eberg, 
which  henceforth,  as  an  independent  existence,  goes  on  its  mis- 
sion of  girding  the  shores,  butting  against  its  fellows,  and  of 
scaring  navigators. 

While  the  ship  was  resting  unmoored  near  the  front  of  this 
icy  barrier,  we  were  startled  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  a 
mass  of  dark  crystal,  vastly  larger  than  our  own  ship,  shooting 
up  from  the  depths,  and  tossing  our  steamer  as  if  it  were  an  egg- 
shell. As  the  vessel  careened,  the  frightened  passengers  were 
sent  whirling  against  each  other,  over  chairs,  or  prostrate  upon 
the  deck.  This  strange  visitor  had  doubtless  been  broken  off 
from  the  roots  of  the  icy  mountain,  hundreds  of  feet  below  the 


\m 


description  of  it. 
in  a  basin  of  the 
ibutaries  coming 
mpass,  it  swells  to 
2nce  it  moves  with 
les  of  detritus  on 
:he  bay  it  is  com- 
is  forced  through, 

moves  on,  at  the 
ers  whence  it  ori- 
erpendicular  wall 
ultramarine. crys- 
the  surface  ;  and 
iderlying  rock,   a 

The  latter  force 

the  glacial  torrent 

eavy  thunder,  and 

ock   that  agitates 

rilous  to  craft  of 

hen  these  masses 
^e  in  their  fall,  and 

thofan   iceberg, 

,  goes  on  its  mis- 
ts fellows,  and  of 

r  the  front  of  this 

appearance  of  a 

vn  ship,  shooting 

if  it  were  anegg- 

l  passengers  were 

»r  prostrate  upon 

been  broken  off 

of  feet  below  the 


V 


surface,  and  hence,  had  unexpectedly  appeared  upon  the  scene. 
Had  it  struck  the  ship  fairly,  nothing  but  a  miracle  could  have 
saved  us. 

Having  recovered  somewhat  from  our  dumb  amazement, 
about  twenty  of  us  were  sent  on  shore  in  the  captain's  gig. 
Landing  some  distance  below  the  ice-wall,  we  climbed  seventy 
feet  up  a  lateral  moraine,  crawled,  shoe-deep  in  wet  gravel, 
down  into  the  valley  of  a  glacial  river,  forded  it,  paddled 
through  glacial  mud  covered  with  shingle  just  deep  enough 
to  hide  the  creamy  pools,  slipped  prostrate  upon  ice  made 
treacherous  by  a  thin  disguise  of  detritus,  and  barked  our  shins 
and  cut  our  shoes  on  the  sharp  angular  blocks  of  granite  and 
basalt  strewn  for  two  miles,  in  great  profusion,  along  our  peril- 
ous route. 

Blocks  of  finest  marble  hedged  our  pathway,  we  trod  upon 
chips  of  jasper  and  chalcedony,  the  product  of  different  moun- 
tains far  up  on  the  peninsula,  and  we  passed  two  exquisitely 
beautiful  boulders  of  veined  porphyry,  weighing  two  or  three 
hundred  pounds  each,  roun  led  and  polished  by  centuries  of  at- 
trition. They  were  of  dark  purple,  streaked  with  quartz 
spotlessly  white,  very  desirable  specimens  for  a  cabinet,  or  for 
out-of-door  ornamentation. 

After  more  than  an  hour  of  plunging,  and  sprawling,  and 
of  pulling  each  other  out  of  gray  mire,  about  half  of  our  num- 
ber reached  the  uncovered  glacier,  and  at  the  first  glance,  we 
felt  that  here  we  should  stand  with  uncovered  heads,  for  we 
were  in  the  presence  of  the  marvellous  manifestations  of  super- 
human power  in  action,  and  looked,  with  unveiled  eyes,  upon 
the  potent  agencies  by  which  much  of  this  planet  has  been 
fashioned. 

Away  in  the  distance  was  the  white  lake  fed  by  numerous 
frozen  rivers,  and  these  rivers  were  born  of  mountain  snows  fifty 
miles  distant.  The  white  robed  mountains  themselves,  aeons 
in  the  paSt,  were   smoothed  and   grooved   far  up  their  flinty 


rr 


■i 


30 

sides,  when  this  same  glacier  was  three-fold  deeper,  and  many 
times  more  ponderous  and  mighty  than  it  is  to-day. 

Stretched  along  the  base  of  the  mountains  till  they  are  only 
a  line  in  the  distance,  were  the  records  of  those  gray  old  years 
in  the  form  of  moraines,  a  hundred  feet  high,  and  appearing 
like  a  range  of  hills.    .  , 

The  lateral  portion  of  this  crystal  river,  perhaps  an  eighth 
of  a  mile  in  width,  is  heaved  into  rounded  hills  and  beetling 
precipices,  quite  resembling  the  sea  in  a  storm,  while  the  mid- 
dle and  much  the  wider  part  is  splintered  into  countless  spires 
and  needles  and  pinnacles,  ten,  twenty,  thirty  feet  in  height, 
and  of  a  beautiful  ultramarine  at  the  base  shaded  to  a  dead 
white  at  the  summit.  • 

In  the  onward  march  of  the  glacier,  these  pinnacles  are  oc- 
casionally wrenched  from  their  seats  in  the  solid  ice  beneath, 
— they  nod,  then  totter,  and  then  make  a  plunge,  and  are  shat- 
tered into  a  cloud  of  acicular  crystals  that  sparkle  like  the 
frosted  snow  under  a  full  moon  of  a  winter's  night,  only  with 
more  of  color, — they  are  diamonds  on  the  wing. 

Again,  the  whole  surface  is  riven  by  a  thousand  crevasses, 
.  4  along  the  bottom  of  which  streams  of  clear  water  find  their 
way,  often  broken  by  waterfalls  that  plunge  farther  down  into 
the  dark  blue  abysses  out  of  sight.  These  chasms  are  frightful 
gaps  to  one  peering  down  a  hundred  feet  between  their 
turquoise  walls.  A  slip,  a  frail  alpenstock,  a  feeble  grasp  ol 
the  guide's  rope,  and  gravity  would  close  the  scene  without 
further  ceremony. 

The  molecular  structute  of  the  glacier  is  continually  chang- 
ing, adjusting  itself  to  the  elevations  and  depressions  of  its 
rocky  bed,  and  hence,  there  is  an  incessant  clicking  and 
crackling,  interrupted  here  and  there  by  an  explosion,  heard 
over  every  inch  of  the  surface. 

The  wHole  scene  is  weird,  and  strange    in  sight   and    ir 
sound, — in  the  voices  that  rise  to  the  air  from  the  azure  depths 


;i!!lli 


31 


d  deeper,  and  many 
1  to-day. 

ins  till  they  are  only 
hose  gray  old  years 
igh,  and  appearing 


I 


11 


r,  perhaps  an  eighth 
1  hills  and  beetling 
orm,  while  the  mid- 
ito  countless  spires 
hirty  feet  in  height, 
ise  shaded  to  a  dead 

jse  pinnacles  are  oc- 
le  solid  ice  beneath, 
lunge,  and  are  shat- 
hat  sparkle  like  the 
's  night,  only  with 
tving. 

thousand  crevasses, 
lear  water  find  their 
e  farther  down  into 
chasms  are    frightful 

feet  between  their 
:,  a  feeble  grasp  of 
>e  the  scene  without 

s  continually  chang- 

depressions   of   its 

gssant   clicking    and 

an  explosion,  heard 

ge    in  sight   and    in 
rom  the  azyre  depths, 


— fascinating  because  every  step  is  perilous,  majestic  from  its 
massiveness,  and  awful  because  its  march  is  irresistible. 

Consider  what  a  force  in  wearing  away  mountains  and 
glens  an  icy  torrent  must  be,  one  mile  wide,  eight  hundred 
feet  deep,  and  in  the  middle  flowing  sixty  feet  a  day;  it  goes 
grinding  and  groaning  and  cracking  in  startling  explosions, 
all  mingled  in  a  loud  wail  like  that  from  the  Fitans  im- 
prisoned under  Mt.  ^tna. 

Now  let  any  one  in  fancy  frame  for  himself  this  picture  : 
Snow-capped  mountains  in  the  back-ground,  two  of  them, 
Fairweather  and  Crillon,  more  than  15,000  feet  high,  thick  set 
with  glittering  peaks  and  clear  cut  as  silhouettes  on  a  dark  sky  ; 
the  great  glacier,  child  of  Arctic  snows,  turreted  and  pinnacled, 
and  splintered  into  a  thousand  strange  forms,  upon  which  Iris 
has  flung  the  varied  hues  of  amethyst,  and  turquoise,  and  sap- 
phire ;  huge  masses  riven  from  the  crystal  river  with  a  thunder- 
ing roar,  reeling  and  toppling  into  an  amber  sea,  thickly  dot- 
ted with  new-born  and  vagrant  icebergs  ;  and  all  this  scene 
glorified  and  transfigured  by  the  setting  sun, — looking  upon 
this  picture  through  the  creative  power  of  imagination,  one 
can  readily  conceive  that  the  enraptured  tourist,  standing  in 
the  presence  of  the  realities,  would  call  that  day  spent  with  the 
Muir  glacier,  the  day  of  all  the  days  he  ever  passed  in  gazing 
upon  and  listening  to  the  wild  wonders  of  our  planet. 

But  hark  !     That  was  not  an  explosion  of  the  glacier's  ar- 
tillery,— it  was  the  echo  of  the  steamer's  whistle  ringing  along 
the  glens   of  the   mountains,  softened,  indeed,  by  distance,  as 
,  are  the  notes  of  the  Alpine  horn. 

In  just  one  hour  we  must  be  on  the  ship,  or  be  left  without 
couch,  or  food,  or  fire,  in  these  wild  and  awful  solitudes,  ninety 
miles  from  the  nearest  habitation  ;  and  we  made  it  in  time,  re- 
gardless of  shoes  or  shins. 


:■ 


Hill 


1   W  :i 

.1 

1 

' 

V 

SITKA. 


Baranoff's  Castle  -  -  A  Dismantled  Palace  that  oug 
to  he  Preserved  --  The  "  Boulevard"  --  J^otahle 
Buildings--  The  Solitary  Mule  --  Climate. 


oiTKA,  July,   U 

Archangel,  the  first  settlement  in  this  part  of  the  Rus 
possessions  in  America,  and  dedicated  to  the  Archangel 
briel,  was  founded  in  1800,  on  Gavan  bay,  about  six  miles  f 
the  present  capital,  but  its  inhabitants  having  been  murdt 
by  the  natives,  Baranoff,  then  governor  of  the  province,  ere< 
in  1804,  a  warehouse  on  Katalan's  rock,  a  noted  eminenc 
the  present  seedy  town,  and  dedicated  it  to  the  Archai 
Michael,  and  named  it  New  Archangel,  or  Sitka,  altho 
Tchirikoff, a  captain  in  Behring's  fleet,  visited  it  in  1741.  F: 
1804,  then,  till  1867,  the  date  of  occupation  by  the  Un 
States,  Southeastern  Alaska  also  was  subject  to  Russia,  as 
more  northern  portion  had  been  before,  and  Sitka  was  made 
capital  of  all  the  Russian-American  possessions. 

Baranoff,  a  brutal  old  soldier  and  trader,  having  been 
N'ated  to  some  rank  among  the  nobility,  transformed  the  w 
house  into  a  castle,  held  his  court  there,  and  began  a  seriei 
amusements  and  fetes  which  were  repeated  for  many  yean 
succeeding  governors  with  more  or  less  semi-barbaric  disp 
Traces  of  the  former  glory  of  the  place  are  still  to  be  seei 
moss-covered  structures  of  great  size, — in  warehouses  stepf 
out  on  piles  a  hundred  feet  over  the  harbor,  in  court-ho 
jail,  and  custom-house,  in  club-house,  barracks,  and  w( 
shops,  all  of  spruce   logs  closely  fitted  together,  and   bol 


'i  Palace  that  ought 
ivard"  --  Jfotahle 
fule  -  -  Climate. 

oiTKA,  July,    1888. 

this  part  of  the  Russian 
1  to  the  Archangel  Ga- 
ay,  about  six  miles  from 
;  having  been  murdered 
of  the  province,  erected 
:k,  a  noted  eminence  in 
;d  it  to  the  Archangel 
yel,  or  Sitka,  although 
visited  it  in  1741.  From 
upation  by  the  United 
jbject  to  Russia,  as  the 
and  Sitka  was  made  the 
ssessions. 

rader,  having  been  ele- 
r,  transformed  the  ware- 
,  and  began  a  series  of 
5ated  for  many  years  by 
is  semi-barbaric  display, 
e  are  still  to  be  seen  in 
■in  warehouses  stepping 
harbor,  in  court-house, 
,  barracks,  and  work- 
1  together,  and   bolted, 


33 

each  tier  to  the  one  below,  so  that  they  would  scarcely  fall 
apart  if  tumbled  over.  The  better  class  of  these  were  covered 
with  boards,  and  painted  with  ochre  ;  they  had  double  win- 
dows, and  a  huge  half-moon  window  in  the  gables.  Solid, 
ponderous,  and  rude  as  old  Baranoff  himself,  during  whose 
iron  sway  the  most  of  them  were  erected,  had  they  been  better 
protected  at  the  foundation,  they  would  yet  last  a  hundred 
years. 

Those  venerable  buildings,  about  twenty-five  in  number,  a 
dozen  rusty  cannon  and  carronades  of  ancient  pattern  and 
doubtful  efficiency  drawn  up  in  front  of  the  custom-house,  a 
dilapidated  dock,  and  a  broken  fire-engine,  are  part  and  par- 
cel of  the  appurtenances  turned  over  to  the  United  States  at 
the  time  of  the  transfer  in  1867. 

Tov/ering  above  all  its  old-time  associates,  the  castle  is  the 
first  building  seen  as  one  approaches  from  the  sea.  Katalan, 
an  Indian  chief,  gave  his  name  to  the  rock  on  which  the  castle 
now  stands,  and  made  it  his  seat  of  government  long  before 
the  tyrat  Banranoff  built  his  warehouse,  afterward  his  palace. 
Since  the  removal  of  Katalan's  wigwam,  three  structures 
have  been  erected  on  its  site ;  the  first  was  burned,  and  was  re- 
placed by  one  of  brick  brought  from  Holland,  each  brick  hav- 
ing the  word  STENWICK  in  block  letters  stamped  upon  it. 
This  second  edifice  was  demolished  by  an  earthquake,  and 
Dutch  tiles  are  now  to  be  found  in  chimneys  of  modern  date, 
or  strewn  along  the  beach. 

The  present  castle,  one  hundredand  forty  by  seventy  feet, 
was  built  of  heavy  cedar  logs,  fastened  to  the  rock  and  to  each 
other  by  copper  bolts,  and  sheathed  with  boards  painted  yel- 
low. Recently  it  has  been  robbed  piecemeal  of  its  costly  fur- 
niture, its  broad  mirrors,  and  showy  chandeliers,  and  nothing 
now  remains  but  the  bare  walls,  and  Russian  brick  stoves  cased 
with  sheet-iron  and  reaching  to  the  ceiling.  A  few  rooms 
are   pointed   to  as   having  been  fitted  up  for  Secretary  Seward 


;l 


iii'ii 


nil 


■|4 

and  party  while  here,  but  they  too  have  been  stripped  of  the! 
furnishings,  the  doors  swing  with  every  wind,  and  the  boys  liav 
made  the  windows  a  target  with  damaging  effect.  So  much  c 
the  history  of  Alaska,  and  especially  of  Sitka,  clusters  aroum 
this  decaying  palace,  that  Congress  ought  to  appropriate  a  fe\ 
hundred  dollars  to  preserve  it  from  further  desecration  and  ulti 
mate  ruin. 

The  customary  ghost  story  comes  in  for  a  share  in  th 
history  of  this  ducal  mansion.  A  beautiful  Russian,  daughte 
of  one  of  the  old  governors,  was  compelled  by  her  "  crue 
parients"  to  pledge  her  hand  to  a  man  whom  she  did  no 
love.  During  the  festivities  of  the  evening  appointed  for  he 
marriage,  she  absented  herself,  and  when  she  was  sought  b; 
her  friends  with  some  apprehension  that  all  was  not  right,  sh( 
was  found  lifeless  in  her  boudoir.  She  now  haunts  the  draw 
ing-room  and  paces  the  governor's  cabinet,  and  wherever  he 
spectre  passes  i^  leaves  behind  a  slight  perfume  of  roses. 

Mr.  Seward  and  suite  were  not  interrupted  by  a  visitatior 
from  her,  probably  because  they  were  not  expecting  it,  sinct 
the  tale  had  been  carefully  withheld  from  them  until  they  wert 
about  to  depart. 

The  only  street  proper — Lincoln  is  its  modern  name — be- 
gins with  the  dock  and  extends  half  a  mile,  curving  with  the 
shore  of  the  crescent-shaped  bay.  Huge  warehouses,  govern- 
ment offices,  a  village  inn  in  which  Lady  Franklin,  in  1870] 
was  a  guest  while  waiting  for  tidings  from  her  lost  husband, 
three  or  four  stores  that  have  on  sale  everything  from  nails  tc 
silks  and  seal-skins,  and  a  score  of  dwellings,  are  strung  sdong 
this  thoroughfare,  nearly  all  built  of  heavy  logs,  and  reared  b) 
the  Russians  away  back  in  the  '*  wee  sma'  hours  "  of  the  cen- 
tury. There  are  lanes  and  by-ways,  leading  to  the  Russian 
quarter  on  the  east,  and  an  alley  through  a  gateway  in  an  old 
stockade  to  the  more  populous  Indian  division  on  the  west,  bui 


5B9S1 


35 


en  stripped  of  their 
i,  and  the  boys  liave 
effect.  So  much  of 
tka,  clusters  around 
to  appropriate  a  few 
iesecration  and  ulti- 

n  for  a  share  in  the 
1  Russian,  daughter 
led  by  her  "  cruel 
whom  she  did  not 
y  appointed  for  her 
n  she  was  sought  by 
all  was  not  right,  she 
low  haunts  the  draw- 
let,  and  wherever  her 
ume  of  roses. 

upted  by  a  visitation 
t  expecting  it,  since 
them  until  they  were 

• 

Is  modern  name — be- 
ile,  curving  with  the 
warehouses,  govern - 
Franklin,  in  1870, 
her  lost  husband, 
I'thing   from  nails  to 
gs,  are  strung  along 
logs,  and  reared  by 
hours  "  of  the  cen- 
ing  to  the  Russian 
gateway   in   an   old 
ion  on  the  west,  but 


I 


all  these  more  recent  dwellings  look  puny  beside  those  of  the 
Baranoff  pattern. 

Conspicuous  among  the  structures  on  the  one  street,  is  the 
old  Russian  Club  House,  which  was  second  only  in  importance 
to  the  castle,  as  the  centre  of  gayety,  especially  in  winter,  when 
from  ten  to  fifteen  men-of-war  lay  in  the  harbor,  and  the 
officers  were  quartered  on  shore.  Gambling  and  dancing  were 
the  chief  amusements  engaged  in,  to  vvhich  horse-racing  was 
added,  the  animals  having  been  transported  here  at  great  ex- 
pense. According  to  all  accounts,  the  semi-barbaric  splendor 
of  their  sports  and  festivities  was  scarcely  inferior  to  those  of 
the  home  country. 

But  the  glory  of  the  club  house  has  departed.  Decay  has 
seized  upon  the  unprotected  foundation  logs,  the  roof  is  moss- 
grown,  impecunious  tenants  find  a  lodging  in  the  office  and 
gaming-rooms,  and  handkerchiefs  once  waved  by  beauty's  hand 
to  her  favorites  from  the  now  creaking  balconies,  have  fluttered 
out  of  sight. 

On  a  rise  of  ground  back  of  the  Indian  division  of  the 
town,  there  are  little  toy  houses  over  Indian  graves,  more  notic- 
able  than  the  airy  homes  on  the  beach  their  tenants  dwelt  in 
while  living.  Adjacent  to  these  is  the  Russian  cemetery, — a 
three-barred  cross  marks  each  mound,  and  inscriptions  in 
Graeco- Roman  characters  are  engraved  on  a  few  prostrate  slabs. 
On  the  same  eminence  and  hard  by  the  cemeteries,  are  two 
crumbling  Martello  towers,  one  pentagonal,  and  the  other  oc- 
tagonal in  form,  having  loop«holes  for  musketry.  From  the 
fact  that  they  were  roofed  ove^,  cannon  were  probably  never 
mounted  upon  them.  In  short,  the  old  is  everywiiere  ; — beside 
the  tottering  buildings,  old  samovars,  old  andirons,  matchlock 
muskets,  bits  of  ancient  crockery  and  tiles,  and  queer  fasten- 
ings for  doors,  are  to  be  found  in  situ,  or  in  the  curio  shops. 
The  only  team  within  ninety  miles  is  a  span  of  superannuated 
mules  drawing  the  only  wagon  on  the  only  street  in   Sitka ; 


30 

although  a  still  older  army  mule,  left  by  Gen.  Jeff.  C.  Da' 
and  his  army  at  the  time  of,  and  after,  the  transfer  in  18( 
wanders  in  the  lanes  rnimolesed  and  unharnessed,  or  stan 
with  bowed  head  in  the  lee  of  some  crumbling  structui 
only  a  little  more  ancient  than  himself,  and  seemingly 
symj)athy  with  him,  musing,  doubtless,  on  the  perilous  seer 
he  had  witnessed  in  war,  or  on  his  more  fearful  sufferings 
crossing  the  plains.  In  summer  he  mumbles  grass  and  weec 
in  winter  he  shares  with  vagrant  dogs  the  contents  of  girbag 
buckets,  or  follows  the  receding  waters  of  the  sea,  and  dir 
on  clams.  In  this  latter  method  of  appeasing  hunger,  he  oft 
has  the  companionship  of  the  improvident  Sitkans,  sin 
their  custom  reiterates  the  proverb  :  "When  the  tide  is  oi 
the  poor  man's  table  is  spread.  " 

In  the  channels  made  by  the  many  islands  between  Bai 
noff  and  the  open  sea  are  fine  fishing-grounds,  affording  se 
mon,  salmon-trout,  halibut,  bass  and  cod.  The  sound  or  ai 
bladder  of  the  red  cod,  a  species  living  in  deep  waters,  e 
pands  and  fills  the  throat  on  being  brought  to  the  surfac 
hence,  in  that  condition,  he  is  unable  to  return  to  the  dee 
again.  '  . 

During  the  month  of  July,  salmon  retail  at  about  thre 
fourths  of  a  cent  a  pound,  ana  halibut  are  a  trifle  cheaper,  ai 
venison  brings  six  or  seven  cents.  Most  of  the  other  suppli 
for  the  table  come  from  the  "  States,  "and  by  the  time  th( 
reach  here  they  have  nearly  doubled  in  price  from  the  lar 
freight  charges  ;  hence,  leaving  out  of  the  account  fish  ar 
game,  comfortable  living  is  expensive. 

Sitka  is  in  an  amphitheatre,  hemmed  in  by  mountains  ( 
all  sides  except  that  fronting  the  sea.  Notable  in  this  sen: 
circle  of  peaks  is  Edgecombe,  an  extinct  volcano,  named  1 
Capt.  Cook,  the  great  navigator,  and  Verstovia,  so  calh 
because  it  was  supposed  to  be  a  Russian  verst  in  height. 


87 


>y  Gen.  Jeff.  C.  Davis 
the  transfer  in  18G7, 
nharnessed,  or  stands 
crumbling  structure, 
f,  and  seemingly  in 
an  the  perilous  scenes 
•e  fearful  sufferings  in 
bles  grass  and  weeds, 
J  contents  of  girbage- 
of  the  sea,  and  dines 
asing  hunger,  he  often 
vident  Sitkans,  since 
When  the  tide  is  out, 

islands  between  Bara- 
^rounds,  affording  sal- 
1.  The  sound  of  air- 
g  in  deep  waters,  ex- 
3ught  to  the  surface ; 
o  return  to  the  deeps 

retail  at  about  three- 
e  a  trifle  cheaper,  and 
st  of  the  other  supplies 

and  by  the  time  they 
:  price  from  the  large 
the  account   fish   and 

d  in  by  mountains  on 
Notable  in  this  semi- 
it  volcano,  named  by 
Verstovia,  so  called 
n  verst  in  height.     It 


-1 

I 


is  now  known  to  be  higher  than  that.     Its  base  is  in  the  out- 
skirts of  the  village. 

This  little  capital  is  farther  north  than  Queen  Victoria's 
palace  in  Scotland,  yet  it  experiences  no  such  extremes  of  tem- 
perature as  Balmoral  feels.  The  mountains  are  covered  per- 
petually with  snow,  although  the  thermometer  rarely  falls 
to  zero,  and  sinks  below  that  point  only  once  in  about 
every  three  years  ;  and  the  average  temperature  for  twelve 
months  in  1886-7  was  only  a  little  less  than  that  for  liufTiilo, 
being  forty-two  degrees. 

The  precii)itation  of  moisture,  however,  is  enormous,  vary- 
ing from  seven  to  ten  feet — that  of  the  year  named  above  was 
one  hundred  and  thirty  inches,  and  there  were  two  hundred  and 
nineteen  cloudy  days,  and  yet  it  is  asserted  that  clothes  will  dry 
under  an  open  shed  during  a  rainstorm,  and  that  when  it  rains 
it  never  pours.  Thunder-storms  and  cyclones  never  visit  Sitka, 
and,  like  Ireland,  there  are  no  snakes  or  toads  on  the  island. 

Agriculture  can  never  be  an  important  factor  in  the  re- 
sources of  the  country,  for  two  reasons  ;  the  summers  are  com- 
paratively cold,  and  the  land  is  nearly  all  set  up  edgewise. 
Little  snow  falls  in  the  valleys,  and  frosts  rarely  occur  till  late 
in  October,  so  that  vegetation  has  nearly  six  months'  range  of 
growth,  but  edibles  make  no  rapid  advance  by  reason  of  the 
cool  days  and  chilly  nights. 

Potatoes,  lettuce  and  cabl^-^ge  mature  in  ordinary  seasons, 
and  the  grasses  grow  luxuriantly  wherever  they  can  get  a  foot- 
hold. Black  alders,  the  only  deciduous  tree,  sometimes  six 
inches  in  diameter,  are  found  along  the  streams,  but  spruce, 
often  of  gigantic  size,  covers  the  country  up  to  the  snow  line. 
The  Kuro  Siwo,  or  Japanese  current,  sweeping  from  the  tropi- 
cal regions  along  this  coast,  moderates  the  rigor  of  the 
climate  usual  in  high  latitudes,  and  furnishes  material  for  the 
abundant  rainfall.  It  drifts  into  the  bay,  the  algse  of  more 
southern     seas,  and  the  teredo  also,    which   ruin   the  harbor 


38 


i 

I 

i 

1  1 

j 

1   > 
I  ] 

i 

' 

piles  in  about  five  years — a  pest  whose  customary  habitat  is  far 
less  than  00  degrees  of  latitude. 

Ravens,  held  sacred  by  the  natives,  eagles,  ducks  and  a 
russet  humming-birds,  comprise  the  more  common  of  the  feath- 
ered tribe,  and  there  is  just  one  pair  of  swallows  in  all  Sitka. 

By  a  recent  census  the  population  of  this  picturesque  town 
was  about  one  hundred  whites,  three  hundred  Russians,  and 
eight  hundred  natives.  Notwithstanding  the  mixed  character 
of  the  population,  government  officials  and  their  families,  offi- 
cers of  the  U.  S.  gun-boat  stationed  here,  and  their  wives,  help 
much  to  make  a  choice"  circle,  so  that  the  sojourner  finds  agree- 
able people  in  several  pleasant  homes. 

If  there  is  any  one  thing  more  than  another  to  which  the 
Sitkans  point  with  pardonable  pride,  it  is  their  boulevard,  which 
is  simply  the  extension  of  their  only  street  to  Indian  river,  a 
beautiful  stream  a  mile  away.  It  skirts  the  bay  and  is  bordered 
on  each  side  by,  and  overshadowed  with,  trees,  with  occasional 
openings  to  give  outlooks  npon  the  island-dotted  sea.  Now 
frame  these  snatches  of  charming  scenery  in  a  circle  of  dark- 
green  mountains  whose  heads  are  often  veiled  in  a  filmy  mist  of 
purest  white,  sometimes  so  thin  as;  o  reveal  the  more  distant 
peaks  as  spectre  mountains  of  a  shadowy  world,  and  the  tourist 
is  ready  to  confess  that  he  has  seen  few  such  promenades  in  all 
his  journeyings. 

At  the  junction  of  the  river  with  the  sea  there  is  a  small 
glade  to  which  the  "  whites  "  resort  for  picnics,  the  Russians 
for  a  revel,  and  the  whole  population  for  a  stroll.  All  the  water 
for  drinking  and  cooking  is  wheeled  from  the  river  along  this 
boulevard  in  hand-carts,  for  the  word  enterprise  has  not  yet 
found  a  place  in  the  lexicon  of  the  drowsy  Sitkans.  At  all 
times  by  day  and  far  into  the  night,  some  one  may  be  seen 
on  this  embowered  thoroughfare. 

The  term  night,  just  used,  has  little  significance  in  this 
latitude,  or  rather,  it  is  a  misnomer  for  weeks  in  mid-sumilier. 


80 


itat  is  far 

ks  and  a 
the  feath- 
Sitka. 
que  town 
ians,  and 
character 
ilies,  offi- 
ves,  help 
ds  agree- 

irhich  the 
d,  which 
1  river,  a 
bordered 
ccasional 
a.  Now 
of  dark- 
y  mist  of 
e  distant 
le  tourist 
les  in  all 

s  a  small 
Russians 
the  water 
long  this 
1  not  yet 
.  At  all 
be  seen 


The  sun  of  course  goes  out  of  sight,  but  his  rays  so  linger 
about  the  northern  horizon  that,  without  artificial  light,  and  in 
absence  of  the  moon,  it  is  not  difficult  to  read  at  midnight. 
People  retire  as  the  fowls  seem  to  do,  by  the  clock,  and  not 
for  the  darkness, — "the  evening  shades  prevail"  here  at  no 
hour.  If  the  sleeper  awakes  at  half-past  three  in  the  morning,  he 
is  quite  likely  to  find  his  room  flooded  with  sunlight,  and  chil- 
dren from  lower  latitudes  complain  of  being  sent  to  bed  before 
dark. 

The  sun  never  scorches,  its  light  is  never  dazzling,  as  it 
often  is  in  Buffalo,  but  it  is  subdued  as  in  tCngland,  and,  de- 
spite its  long  continuance,  it  does  not  interfere  with  ten  hours 
of  sleep  for  the  tourist.  He  eats  and  sleeps  as  if  he  were  born 
for  these  exercises  alone,  and  if  there  were  scales  in  town  he 
would  generally  be  found  to  be  rapidly  increasing  his  avoirdu- 
pois. The  atmosphere  is  saturated  with  drowsiness  and  repose, 
and  there  are  few  sounds  and  little  bustle  to  disturb  one's  quiet. 

Taking  into  account,  then,  the  salubrity  of  the  climate, 
the  opportunity  for  undisturbed  rest,  the  ease  of  access  to  the 
fine  fishing  grounds  among  the  islands  and  to  game  in  the  for- 
ests, the  quaint  structures  reared  by  the  old  Russians,  the 
unique  character  of  its  people,  the  interesting  history  of  the 
town,  its  charming  surroundings,  and  the  unequaled  scenery  on 
the  way  here,  we  believe  that,  for  three  months  in  summer,  Sit- 
ka is  one  of  the  most  attractive  resorts  in  all  our  broad  do- 
main. 


:e  in  this 
•summer. 


THE  GREEK  CHURCH. 


Reniarhahle  Paintings  --  The  Russian  Ritual  ••  Cu- 
rious a,nd  Anomalous  State  of   Affairs  --  J^ot  a 
Territory   Prohibition  in  AlasJca  -  -  A   Law 
Unto  Themselves. 


I 


'  Sitka,  July  11,  1888. 

The  Greek  Church  in  Sitka — in  form  a  Greek  cross,  and 
placed  on  an  expansion  of  Lincoln  street, — is  the  first  structure 
sought  by  tourists  just  landed  from  the  steamer  ;  and  sensibly, 
too,  for  it  is  a  well-preserved  building,  and  the  only  one  serving 
the  people  now  as  it  did  the  old  Russians,  and  because,  also, 
there  are  only  two  others  in  America,  and  the  ceremonies  in 
this  church  are  strictly  orthodox,  quite  up  to  the  forms  observed 
in  Russia.  It  is  built  of  the  universal  material  used  here,  spruce 
logs,  sheathed  with  boards,  which  are  protected  with  a  dove- 
colored  paint  and  trimmed  with  white.  The  spire  resembles  a 
minaret,  and  the  dome  over  the  central  part  of  the  church  has 
the  bulge  of  a  Mahomedan  mosque,  both  of  a  bright  green  color 
and  each  surmounted  by  a  gilded  cross  with  triple  bars. 

A  raven,  a  common  bird  of  the  country,  is  sa.d,  to 
perch  upon  one  of  these  crosses  whenever  the  gun  of 
an  incoming  steamer  announces  the  approach  of  tourists,  and 
to  croak  his  welcome  to  them  in  a  strain  as  harsh  and  dolorous 
as  the  "Nevermore"  of  Poe's  uncanny  bird.  In  the  open 
belfry  there  is  a  chime  of  six  sweet-toned  bells  which  make 
almost  the  only  sounds  that  break  the  silence  of  the  sleep}  vil- 


^« 


41 


lage.  The  interior  is  gaudy  with  paintings,  intended  to  repre- 
sent patriarchs  and  prophets,  draped  in  silver  and  gold,  and 
two  bronze  doors  of  open-work  pattern,  with  panels  bearing 
images  of  saints  and  holy  men,  cut  off  the  altar  and  robing- 
room  from  the  auditorium.  Into  this  altar-room  no  woman  is 
permitted  to  enter. 

Without  the  metallic  coverings,  some  of  these  paintings  are 
said  to  have  merit,  the  undraped  copy  of  the  Transfiguration 
is  far  superior  to  ordinary  church  pictures.  In  a  side  room  is  an 
exquisite  Madonna  ''with  sweet  Byzantine  face."  The  holy 
child,  in  an  erect  posture,  leans  against  her  shoulder,  and  his 
face,  like  his  mother's,  has  a  look  of  deep  meaning.  This  too 
is  a  painting  of  great  merit,  and  even  a  third  of  the  thirty  will 
bear  criticism. 

The  priest  conducts  the  intoned  service  in  the  altar-room, 
with  the  bronze  doors  wide  open,  so  that  the  worshippers,  stand- 
ing in  the  auditorium  under  the  dome,  have  a  fair  view  of  the 
performance.  During  the  Miserere,  however,' the  valves  are 
closed;  and  his  wailings  are  thereby  subdued. 

The  chorister?',  shut  off  from  the  audience  by  a  screen,  re- 
spond to  almos'  every  sentence  uttered  by  the  priest,  and  their 
part  is  well  performed.  The  whole  service  is  in  Russian,  and 
since  three-fourths  of  the  audience  are  native,  not  more  than 
that  proportion  understand  it. 

The  ritual  is  more  elaborate  than  that  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church,  and  the  genuflections,  the  crossings,  and  the 
prostrations  of  Russians  and  Indian?  3,like,  can  scarcely  be  out- 
done by  the  most  thoroughly  ceremonial  church  in  the  mo.'her 
country  ; — in  two  words,  they  are  strictly  orthodox  ;  for  during 
the  hour  of  worship,  there  is  an  almost  incessant  pointing  of  the 
fingers  to  the  head  and  breast,  or  kneeling,  or  crouching  with 
the  head  upon  the  floor,  each  motion  performed  three  times. 
This  can  be  done  in  a   church  in  which  there  are  neither  pews 


42 


nor  seats,  and  where  every  one  from  czar  to  meanest  subject, 
worships  in  a  standing  position  when  not  going  through  with 
the  movements. 

As  a  part  of  the  exercises,  the  priest  presents  himself  before 
the  congregation  with  a  golden  chalice  in  each  hand.  Each  of 
these  cups,  covered  with  a  little  doyley,  is  said  to  contain,  the 
one  bread,  the  other  wine.  He  pronounces  a  blessing,  and, 
returning  to  the  throne-room,  is  supposed  to  partake  of  thr- 
emblems  vicariously.  .  At  a  very  early  period  in  life,  however, 
the  worshippers  do  have  the  sacrament  administered  to  them  in 
person.  The  parents  come  forward  with  the  babe  to  a  dais  on 
which  the  priest  stands  holding  a  chalice  of  gold,  gemmed  and 
elaborately  etched.  He  first  adjusts  a  scarlet  bib  under  the  chin 
of  the  infant,  and  with  a  delicate  spoon,  pours  into  the  mouth 
of  the  little  copper-face  a  few  drops  of  wine,  pats  the  tongue 
three  times  and  dismisses  him  for  another.  An  acolyte  stands 
near  who  administers  the  bread,  and  the  faces  of  the  parents 
beam  with  joy  tjiat  the  child  is  now  saved.  A  sermon,  extem- 
poraneous, about  ten  minutes  long,  and  uttered  with  great  ear- 
nestness, follows.  Lastly,  the  priest  brings  out  a  heavy  golden 
crucifix,  set  with  rubies  and  emeralds,  and  presents  it  to  be 
kissed,  first  to  the  babies,  then  to  the  youth,  and  finally  to  the 
adult  worshippers,  and  then  there  is  a  rush  for  the  (Joor. 

In  funeral  ceremonies,  the  body,  covered  with  a  thin  veil 
only,  and  preceded  by  thfe  priest,  bareheaded,  swinging  a  cen- 
ser, and  chanting  a  dirge,  is  borne  from  the  house  of.  the 
deceased,  and  is  followed  by  mourners  wailing  as  in  Oriental 
countries. 

This  church  was  once  a  cathedral,  had  a  resident  bishop, 
and  was  the  possessor  of  large  wealth  in  crucifixes,  .osiers,  and 
plate,  adorned  with  precious  stones  ;  but  after  Alas/:?  becatv»**  n 
part  of  the  Union,  most  of  the  Russians  went  back  o  the  mother 
country,  and  the  bishop  soon  followed,  leaving  only  three  real 
Muscovites  in  the  diocese.    The  rest  ol  the  congregation  is  made 


'^ 


43 


St  subject, 
3ugh  with 

;elf  before 
Each  of 
ntain,  the 
ing,  and, 
ie  of  th<- 
however. 
)  them  in 
a  dais  on 
imed  and 
the  chin 
le  mouth 
2  tongue 
e  stands 
:  parents 
,  extem- 
reat  ear- 
^  golden 
it  to  be 
y  to  the 

hin  veil 

i  a  cen- 

of.  the 

3riental 

bishop, 
Jrs,  and 
!carn'*  n 
mother 
ree  real 
is  made 


up  of  Creoles,  Indians  and  half-breeds,  the  latter  exhibiting  the 
vices  that  generally  come  of  mingling  the  blood  of  degenerate  ^ 
races.  The  present  priest  is  highly  respected  by  all  Sitkans. 
He  puts  forth  great  efforts  to  correct  in  his  people  their  inborn 
love  for  drinking,  and  rebukes  them  for  idleness  and  disregard 
for  law  and  order  ,  but  he  has  become  discouraged,  has  sent  his 
resignation  to  the  Czar-Pope,  and  contents  himself  with  teach- 
»  ing  the  children,  and  with  the  simple  performance  of  his  duties 

as  priest. 

To  the  tourist,  at  first,  it  seems  strange  that  so  conspicuous 
a  structure  as  this  church  is,  should  be  set  down  in  this  shabby 
town,  but  when  he  studies  its  history,  rich  in  past  glory  and 
usefulness,  and  finds  that,  for  long  years,  it  has  kept  faithful  vigil 
among  these  moldering  structures,  and  been  an  open  gate  to  the 
people,  leading  to  a  higher  life,  he  is  forced  to  feel  that,  how- 
ever much  those  races  have  failed  to  realize  the  enjoyments  of 
that  better  life,  a  beneficent  hand  that  guides  all  things  well,  did 
plant  this  church  in  Sitka,  the  capital  of  this  great  territory. 

Congress  unwittingly  establ'shed  a  monarchy  in  Alaska, 
and  made  the  judge  the  autocrat ;  and  it  was  brought  about  in 
this  way  :  By  a  stroke  of  the  pen,  that  body  enacted  "  that  the 
general  laws  of  the  State  of  Oregon,  now  in  force,  are  hereby 
declared  to  be  the  law  in  this  district,  so  far  as  the  same  may  be 
applicable  and  not  in  conflict  with  the  laws  of  the  United 
States."  Note  the  "  English  as  she  is  wrote,"  and  that  this  is 
not  a  territory,  but  a  district. 

Now,  when  a  case  is  brought  before  the  judge,  it  rests  solely 
with  him  to  determine  whether  the  laws  of  Oregon  apply  to  it 
or  not,  and  whenever  an  appeal  from  his  conclusions  has  been 
made  to  the  higher  courts  in  Oregon,  no  decision  has  ever  been 
given  of  it,  because  those  courts  declare  that  misdemeanors 
in  Alaska  do  not  come  under  their  jurisdiction.  Again  we 
quote  another  enactment,  which  will  be  new  to  most  people  in 
the  "States."       *' The  importation,  manufacture,  and  sale  of 


44 


intoxicating  liquors  in  said  district,  except  for  medicinal, 
mechanical,  and  scientific  purposes,  is  hereby  prohibited."  Do 
people  generally  know  that  a  stringent  prohibitory  law,  enacted 
by  the  United  States  Government,  applies  to  one-fifth  of  our 
country  ? 

Despite  this  prohibition,  in  Juneau  there  are  twenty  saloons, 
six  in  Sitka,  and  c  '-  ir  almost  every  settlement  in  Alaska,  openly 
selling  liquor  to  any  except  to  Indians,  and  the  judge  now 

presiding  daily  violate  .his  law  by  patronizing  these  saloons 
in  Sitka.  No  retailer  can  be  punished  for  these  infractions, 
for  there  are  so  few  qualified  jurymen  in  the  settlements,  that  a 
vendor  of  liquors,  or  a  patron,  or  sympathizer,  is  sure  to  find  his 
place  on  the  jury. 

Alaska  has  no  legislature,  and  no  one  in  Washington  to 
bring  her  wants  to  notice.  In  fact,  Congress  has  refused  to  afford 
her  any  relief  by  enacting  wholesome  laws.  It  is  a  case  of  cul- 
pable neglect  on  the  part  of  that  body.  The  compensation 
granted  to  the  people  is  that  there  is  no  taxation.  There  is  no 
ownership  of  land  or  home,  except  that  promised  by  the  treaty, 
to  persons  in  rightful  possession  at  the  time  of  the  transfer. 
Hence  there  is  no  inducement  for  people  to  make  this  a  perma- 
nent residence.  There  is  no  organized  town,  no  officer  of  a 
village,  not  even  a  road-master,  and  of  course,  no  corporate 
authority  to  compel  the  observance  of  sanitary  regulations,  or 
ordinances  for  the  public  weal. 

Under  this  singular  condition  of  affairs,  disturbances  of  the 
peace,  and  the  violation  of  personal  rights,  must  be  expected  ; 
the  only  wonder  is  that  they  are  not  of  more  frequent  occur- 
rence. The  general  regard  for  fair  play,  and  an  innate  love  for 
decency  and  order  on  the  part  of  most  of  the  white  people,  save 
the  country  from  anarchy. 

The  officers  of  the  "  District  "  are  a  governor,  a  district 
attorney,  a  marshal,  and  four  commissioners,  or  justices,  who 
take  cognizance  of  minor  offences  and  cases,  one  each  for  Sitka, 
Wrangel,  Juneau,  and  Ounalaska  ;  but  these  authorities  have  no 
vessel  by  which  to  reach  far-off  settlements,  sometimes  a  thou- 
sand miles  distant,  and  hence  the  people  in  those  remote  places 
must  necessarily  be  a  law  unto  themselves.  The  whole  blame 
for  this  anomalous  and  loose  state  of  affairs  rests  upon  Congress. 


NATIVES  OF  ALASKA. 


Evidence    of  Japanese  Origin  --  Skill  and  Taste  in 
the  Arts  --  bcme  Interesting  Products  --  The  To- 
tem-Pole -  The    Wonderful   Chilcat  Blanket 
.-Accomplishments  of  t?ie  Women--  Cu- 
rios for  Tourists  --  The  Medicine 
Man --Houses --Mrs.  Tom,  the 
Rich  Beauty. 


Sitka,  July,  1888. 

Naturalists  study  types  of  the  animal  kingdom  best  in  the 
embryo,  or  as  near  to  that  condition  as  is  practicable. 

Adopting  this  method  of  investigation,  and  comparing  the 
pappooses  of  the  Thlingkits,  the  natives  of  Southeastern  Alas- 
ka,  with  the  babies  of  the  Japanese  as  seen  in  San  Francisco 
and  Portland,  we  were  struck  with  what  to  us  was  a  discovery 
that  the  Thlingkits  are  not  Indians,  but  Japanese  in  origin.  In 
some  instances,  so  striking  is  the  resemblance  in  the  eyes, 
cheek-boi.es,  lips,  noses,  and  form  in  general,  that,  should  the 
little  rolly-polies  change  cradles,  we  believe  the  mothers  only 
could  detect  the  transfer ;  and  the  mothers  themselves  differ  no 
more  than  one  could  readily  suppose  they  would,  living  for  a 
hundred  years  or  longer  in  conditions  quite  dissimilar  in  re- 
spect to  climate,  food  and  surroundings. 

The  Thlingkits  use  several  words,  and  have  not  a  few  cus- 
toms, that  prevail  in  some  parts  of  Japan.  Again,  Japanese 
junks  have  been  found  from  time  to  time  stranded  along  tho 
coast,  ever  since  Alaska  was  first  visited  by  explorers. 


46      • 

Finally,  the  United  States  district  court  for  Alaska,  has 
declared  that  "  these  people  are  not  Indians,  and  that  they 
can  sue  and  be  sued,  and  go  and  come  at  pleasure."  Our 
conclusion,  that  they  derive  their  origin  from  Japanj  not  from 
China,  is  simply  a  theory,  and  we  present  it  for  what  it  is 
worth. 

In  further  support  of  this  theory,  however,  it  may  be  add- 
ed that,  unlike  the  Indians  of  the  other  territories,  these  peo- 
ple seek  employment,  and  are  to  be  found  in  canneries,  in 
mills,  and  voluntarily  engage  in  service  as  sailors,  as  'long- 
shoremen, and  even  as  house-servants.  Like  the  Japanese, 
they  are  skillful  artisans  in  wood,  bone  and  silver.  From  huge 
logs  of  spruce,  they  fashion  their  canoes  to  fine  lines  and  even 
balance,  without  square  or  gauge,  guiding  their  simple  tools, 
the  axe  and  the  adze,  by  the  eye  alone. 

From  the  horns  of  the  mountain  goat,  first  by  boiling  till 
they  are  soft,  and  pressing  them  in  a  wooden  matrix,  they  mold 
spoons  and  ladles,  and  cover  the  long  handles  with  grotesque 
figures,  so  neatly  carved  and  so  smoothly  polished,  that  the 
supply  never  equals  the  demand.  Their  canoe-paddles,  worked 
out  with  an  axe  and  knife,  are  marvels  of  curve  and  poise. 

With  the  head  of  an  axe  for  an  anvil,  a  cold  chisel,  and  a 
clumsy  hammer,  the  Thlingkit  silversmith,  seated  on  a  plank, 
fashions  from  coin,  bracelets,  rings  and  pins,  in  forms  so 
unique,  and  with  a  jack-knife  etches  them  with  figures  so  origi- 
nal, that  lady  tourists  capitulate  at  first  sight.  The  scheming 
Siwash,  with  grave  countenance  but  illumined  eye,  indicates 
the  price  with  uplifted  fingers,  and  it  is  always  paid.  In  a  word, 
he  rivals  the  Swiss  carver  in  producing  curios  and  articles  for 
ornamentation,  and  is  quite  as  shrewd  in  a  bargain  with  mdis- 
creet  visitors.  But  it  is  in  Totem-poles  that  their  ideals  of  the 
carver's  art  find  their  fullest  expression.  These  so-called  poles 
are  huge  logs,  from  ten  to  sixty  feet  in  length,  and  are  generally 
erected  in  front  of  a  chief's  dwelling.     They  are  genealogical, 


^}i    I 


47 


aska,  has 
hat    thev 
"     Our 
not  from 
vhat  it  is 

be  add- 
lese  peo- 

ries,  in 
s  'long- 
ipanese, 
m  huge 
nd  even 
-   tools, 

ling  till 
;y  mold 
otesque 
hat  the 
worked 

56. 

>  and  a 
plank, 
ms    so 
origi- 
eniing 
icates 
Word, 
es  for 
indis- 
f  the 
poles 
trally 
ical, 


and  historical,  containing  in  carved  hieroglyphics  the  record 
of  the  brave  deeds  of  the  sachem  and  of  those  of  his  lineage, 
deep  cut  and  sharp  in  outline,  so  that  they  can  easily  be  dis- 
tinguished, although  parts  of  them  are  high  in  the  air,  and 
readily  interpreted  by  those  verseil  in  Thlingkit  traditions. 
Prominent  among  the  grotesque  figures  that  crowd  the  front  of 
the  pole  from  bottom  to  top,  are  the  hideous  forms  of  the  chief 
and  his  ancestors,  generally  sitting  in  a  squat  position,  having 
broad  faces,  the  matked  characteristics  of  which  are  great, 
threatening  eyes,  grim  and  terrible,  glaring  upon  their  enemies 
beneath,  writhing  under  tortures.  Around  and  between  these 
figures  are  distributed,  so  as  to  leave  but  little  unoccupied 
space,  the  images  of  the  raven,  their  creator  and  the  repository 
of  the  souls  of  their  fathers,  of  the  eagle,  their  sovereign,  and 
of  the  salmon,  the  preserver  of  life  ;  and  from  the  midst  of  the 
assemblage  of  hideous  forms,  on  a  few  poles,  the  great  eye  of 
evil  looks  out  askance,  suggesting  devil-worship  among  the 
barbarous  tribes  of  America,  as  in  Africa. 

It  is  asserted  by  those  who  have  mingled  with  these  peo- 
ple, that  the  great  end  sought  in  worship  is  the  same  that 
is  striven  for  by  heathen  all  over  the  world,  that  of  propitiat- 
ing evil  spirits,  thinking  that  good  spirits  will  take  care  of 
themselves,  or,  at  the  worst,  will  not  harm  them. 

On  the  back  of  the  poles  there  is  a  rectangular  niche  cut 
deeply  inward,  as  a  receptacle  for  the  ashes  of  the  deceased;  for 
they  are  far  in  advance  of  their  white  brethren  in  mortuary  cer- 
emonials, having  practiced  cremation  time  out  of  mind.  At 
Fort  Wrangel  a  few  weeks  since,  the  ashes  of  a  chief  were  re- 
moved from  a  pole  in  which  they  were  deposited  forty  years 
since.  They  were  buried  by  his  tatterdemalion  son,  who  hopes 
that  his  remains  will  find  the  place  once  occupied  by  his  father's; 
but  that  is  doubtful,  for  the  pole  is  cracked  and  crumbling, 
and  can  scarcely  bear  the  rigor  of  another  Alaskan  winter. 


48 


Hard  by  this  tottering  stub  is  another  surmounted  by  a 
raven,  one  by  an  eagle,  one  by  a  statue  of  a  chief  wearing  a 
plug  hat — this  is  a  recent  addition — and  another  by  a  nonde- 
scrijDt  animal,  hideous  to  the  last  degree. 

Conspicuous  among  these  monuments  is  a  log  pen  sur- 
mounted by  a  huge  alligator,  very  old,  holding  wide  open  a 
mouthful  of  formidable  teeth.  Where  did  these  people,  so  long 
ago  as  when  this  image  was  erected,  get  their  idea  of  an  al- 
ligator ? 

Missionaries  have  discouraged  cremation,  and  where  they 
have  made  converts,  totem-poles  are  now  rarely  carved,  so  that 
these  two  customs,  peculiar  to  these  people,  and,  to  our  no- 
tion, excusable,  have  fallen  into  desuetude. 

The  native  women  exhibit,  great  skill,  and  good  taste  in 
weaving  and  coloring  baskets.  The  material  is  the  inner  bark 
of  the  root  of  the  yellow  cedar,  and  until  recently,  the  dyes 
were  all  from  plants  indigenous  to  the  country.  Now  aniline 
dyes  are  employed,  deeper  and  more  glaring  than,  but  not  so 
soft,  as  the  home  products.  The  baskets  made  by  the  Yakutat 
women  are  preferred  by  travelers,  and  reaspnably,  for  they  are 
firm,  durable,  and  so  compactly  braided  that  they  hold  water, 
and  by  throwing  in  hot  stones,  potatoes  can  be  boiled  in  them 
without  harm  to  the  texture. 

Besides  basket-work,  the  women  in  Sitka  weave  from  the 
same  material,  mats  and  gaudy  coverings  for  walking- canes, 
and  bottles,  and  they  know  how  to  sell  them.  They  have  two 
prices  for  their  wares,  one  for  residents,  and  for  tourists  any 
price  they  think  they  can  induce  a  stranger  to  pay.  On 
**  steamer-days,"  which  occur  every  two  weeks  in  summer,  the 
natives  and  the  white  traders  combine  to  make  the  most  of 
their  opportunity,  and  lady  passengers,  to  the  utter  disgust  of 
their  more  discreet  husbands  and  brothers,  on  seeing  a  tempt- 
ing array  of  Indian  curios,  go  wild  at  the  sight,  and  pa>  the 
price  usually  given  for   the  gratification    of  misguided  fr.oy. 


49 


ited  by  a 
vearing  a 
I  nonde- 

pen  sur- 
!   open  a 

so  long 
)f  an  al- 

ere  they 
,  so  that 

our  no- 
taste  in 
ler  bark 
he  dyes 

aniline 
:  not  so 
^akutat 
hey  are 

water, 
n  them 

am  the 
canes, 
ve  two 
its  any 
.  On 
;r,  the 
lost  of 
:ust  of 
empt- 
i>  the 
hKcy. 


These  women  ply  their  trade  in  furs,  in  berries,  in  baskets,  or 
in  carved  wood  and  horn,  sitting  in  the  usual  squat  position  on 
the  walls,  or  docks,  but  they  rarely  invite  attention  to  them, 
either  by  word  or  gesture — they  simply  display  them  upon  a 
bit  of  cloth  and  look  their  appeals  to  those  passing. 

They  wear  silver  ear-drops,  have  numerous  rings  upon 
their  fingers,  and  sport  a  bundle  of  bracelets  on  each  wrist, 
the  number  being  measured  by  their  bank-account,  and  the 
wealthiest  of  the  belles  have  surpassed  their  fairer  sisters  in  the 
adornment  of  their  persons,  in  that  they  insert  a  labret,  a 
stem  of  bone,  in  a  hole  made  about  an  inch  below  the  edge 
of  the  lower  lip  ;  and  fashion  rages  among  the  dusky  beau- 
ties of  Juneau  to  the  extent  that  they,  too,  daub  their  faces  with 
paint — not  with  rouge  and  flour,  but  with  fish-oil  and  lamp- 
black, presenting  a  spectacle  more  hideous,  according  to  our 
fancy,  than  do  the  belles  of  a  modern  ball-room.  However, 
tastes  differ. 

The  ambition  of  the  average  lady  tourist  to  possess  an  or- 
nament which  her  neighbor  is  unable  to  procure,  is  quite  grati- 
fied when  she  has  gathered  among  her  treasures  a  Chilcat  blank- 
et. These  are  made  of  the  hair  of  the  mountain  goat,  are  about 
two  about  yards  long  by  one  in  width,  and  have  a  long  fringe 
on  three  sides.  The  body  of  the  blanket,  very  thick  and  firm,  is 
a  curious  arrangement  of  white,  black  and  yfllow  colors,  in 
parallelograms,  rhombs,  and  Roman  key- work.  Conspicuous 
among  these  figures  and  widely  apart,  two  great  eyes,  elongat- 
ed horizontally,  peer  out  from  the  maze,  with  so  steady,  sol- 
emn, and  searching  a  look,  that  when  seen  for  the  first  time, 
they  incline  one  to  shrink  from  their  stare. 

Shamans,  or  medicine  men,  array  themselves  in  these 
blankets  when  they  practice  their  incantations,  and  Chilcat 
dudes  in  dances.  They  are  showy  but  harmonious  in  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  colors,  and  civilized  people  use  them  with 
great  effect  in    mural  decorations.     A    Chilcat    woman     mn 


60 


weave  and  embroider  a  fine  specimen  in  about  six  months,  and 
it  readily  sells  for  ^75-  The  Shaman,  or  medicine  man,  like 
the  poet,  is  born,  not  made.  At  birth  there  are  certain  indi- 
cations that  he  is  to  be  set  apart  for  the  sacred  office  of  healing, 
and  when  he  is  of  suitable  age,  he  is  put  into  training  for  his 
work-  One  of  the  Mulisnensable  conditions  for  success  in  it 
is  that  the  student  shai'  pjrtul.p  '>f  the  flesh  of  a  witch,  and 
unfortunately  some  inuore'it  and  defenceless  member  of  the 
tribe  must  suffer  to  satisfy  the  demand. 

All  ailments  are  suppo.-ed  to  be  produced  by  demoniacal 
possession,  and  hence  the  (■oct(  »  en'.ers  the  sick-room  dressed 
in  fantastic  costume,  pendent  lo  which  are  rattles,  beads  and 
little  bells  ;  his  hair  stands  bristling,  his  eyes  glare  wildly,  he 
dances  in  the  fire  and  shakes  a  big  rattle  which  he  carries  in 
his  hand,  he  puffs  and  blows  md  screams  to  scare  away  the 
w'tches.  If  he  succeeds,  the  young  Shaman  becomes  a  Tyee 
doctor,  that  is,  a  great  medicine-man.  If  the  patient  does  not 
recover,  it  is  evident  that  the  witch  is  a  strong  and  dangerous 
one,  and  must  be  traced  to  some  luckless  person  who  harbors 
the  evil  spirit,  and  that  persoi,  must  pay  the  penalty  by  be- 
co:ning  food  to  fortify  and  nourish  more  doctors. 

The  usual  manner  of  treating  those  accused  of  being  witches 
was  illustrated  at  Chilcat  last  March.  The  victim  was  a  young 
woman,  eighteen  years  old,  and  her  accuser  was  an  enemy.  Her 
hands  were  tied  behind  her  naked  body,  her  head  was  drawn 
by  her  hair  backward  at  right  angles  with  her  chest,  her  feet 
were  stretched  up  on  the  back,  and  both  feet  and  head  were 
fastened  to  the  hands.  In  this  condition  she  was  to  remain 
until  she  perished,  but  after  six  days  of  suffering  she  was  rescued 
and  sent  away  from  her  would  Ije  murderers. 

Their  traditions  are  childish,  like  those  of  all  barbarous 
people — one  will  suffice.  They  worship  the  spirits  of  the  air 
and  of  water,  and  imagine  that  the  souls  of  their  ancestors, 
which   they  also   worship,  have   their   final   rest  in  the  raven ; 


51 


heuce  that  bird,  regarded  sacred,  is  quite  tame,  and  in  winter 
c(>»nes  to  their  dwellings  for  food.  A  boy-tourist  tried  his  gun 
on  one  of  them  at  Juneau,  and  learned  by  the  rumpus  he  raised 
tl  at  he  had,  in  the  eyes  of  the  natives,  committed  a  sacrilegious 
act. 

To  overcome  the  difficulty  the  white  traders  and  the  diffei- 
■■:n-  tribes  had  in  holding  communication,  the  Hudson's  Hay 
Company,  many  years  ago,  framed  a  Polyglot  language  out  of 
ll  e  various  tongues  spoken  on  this  coast,  comi)rehensive  enough 
f(  r  commercial  purposes,  thereby  anticipating  Volapiik  by  forty 
yrais,  and  this  mongrel  tongue  is  now  in  common  use  from 
Oregon  to  Siberia.  This  jargon  in  which,  beside  Indian,  many 
English,  French,  and  Scotch  words  find  a  place,  is  the  far- 
famed  Chinook. 

The  population  of  Alaska  is  about  forty  thousand,  found 
chiefly  among  the  Aleuts,  InnuitF,  Tinnehs,  Hydahs,  and 
Thlingkits.  The  latter  are  divided  into  ten  tribes  occupying 
southeastern  Alaska,  and  number  more  than  six  thousand. 

It  has  been  the  policy  of  both  the  Russian  and  American 
g<jvernments  to  keep  the  natives  in  a  separate  portion  of  a  vil- 
lage from  the  traders,  and  to  encourage  them  to  build  bet- 
ter dwellings  than  wigwams.  Hence  along  the  coast  com- 
fortable habitations  are  common.  The  Sitkans,  a  tribe  of  the 
Thlingkit  people,  live  in  frame  houses  all  numbered  'p  mul- 
tiples of  fifty.     The  population  is  above  eight  hundred. 

In  summer  it  is  much  less,  few  but  women  and  children 
being  left,  for  the  males  are  away  at  work  in  mills  and  canner- 
ies, or  catching  and  drying  fish  for  their  food  supply.  "Tn- 
diantown"  would  then  be  as  quiet  as  the  rest  of  Sitka,  except 
for  the  fights  of  the  vicious  wolf-dogs,  almost  as  numerous  as 
the  people.  In  winter,  when  the  bucks  are  at  home,  times  a^e 
livelier.  Although  a  stringent  enactment  by  Congress  prohibits 
the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  in  the  territory,  the  law  is  vio- 
lated many  times  a  day,  even  by  the  officials  appointed  by  the 


f.2 


United  States  government,  and  the  natives,  hovering  around 
drink-holes  in  Sitka,  get  a  taste  occasionally,  despite  the  pen- 
alty for  selling  liquor  to  Indians.  Among  the  vices  the  natives 
have  leirned  from  the  touch  of  a  quasi  civilization,  is  that  of 
the  home  manufacture  of  a  d»'ir.k  called  hoochinoo^  the  **  Jersey 
Lightning"  of  these  children  of  the  Arctics.  It  is  made  in  a 
rude  still  from  fermented  molasses,  and  is  probably  the  vilest 
stuff  ever  invented,  for  when  taken  it  sets  on  fire  the  blood,  lets 
loose  the  baser  passions,  and  throws  the  victim  into  a  state  of 
uncontrollable  frenzy.  The  United  States  marshal  has  broken 
up  several  of  these  illicit  distilleries,  but  the  territory  is  so  large 
that  he  has  not  yet  reached  a  lithe  of  them. 

Several  of  their  houses  have  cooking-stoves  in  them,  and 
are  neatly  kept  as  housekeeping  goes  in  Alaska,  while  in  other 
and  larger  ones  inhabited  by  three  or  four  families  and  as  many 
villainous  dogs  as  there  are  people,  the  fiire  is  built  in  the 
middle  of  the  one  room,  and  the  larger  volume  of  smoke  finds 
its  way  out  of  a  hole  in  the  root.  There  is  also  a  dais  about  a 
foot  high,  extending  around  the  room,  one  side  for  each  family, 
on  which  are  deposited,  in  seeming  disorder,  beds,  stools, 
clothing,  provisions,  and  the  implements  of  their  pursuits. 

Their  houses  are  set  close  together  and  at  all  angles  near  the 
rocky  shore,  and  in  front,  high  up  on  the  rocks,  out  of  reach 
of  the  tide,  lie  their  light  canoes,  covered  with  rags  to  preserve 
them  from  cracking  ;  while  still  higher  above  these,  on  frames, 
hang  long  strips  of  salmon  and  malodorous  codfish-drying. 

The  women,  dressed  in  civilized  costume  of  bright  colors, 
sit.  by  their  doors,  weaving  baskets,  or  awaiting  customers  for 
their  curios  spread  before  them,  and  the  men  use  the  rocks  as  a 
work-bench  on  which  they  hew  out  their  canoes  or  carve  paddles. 
For  so  many  generations  have  they  sat  curled  up  in  these  totter- 
ing boats,  and  swung  their  paddles,  that  they  have  spindling  legs 
and  chests  abnormally  developed. 


58 


Anna  Hoots,  a  man,  and  Sitka  Jack,  sport  door-plates, 
and  the  former  claims  to  be  the  sagamore  of  the  tribe,  but  he 
has  never  yet  given  a  potlach  worthy  of  a  chief,  and  hence  his 
claim  is  not  acknowledged. 

The  great  Tyee  lady  of  Indiantown  is  a  Mrs.  Tom,  whose 
wealth  is  estimated  at  all  sums  from  ten  to  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
chiefly  in  blankets;  for  these  articles  are  the  legal  tender  of  the 
tribe.  She  is  rich  in  furs  also,  and  valuable  curios,  and  silver, 
all  of  which  she  has  acquired  by  trading,  making  long  journeys 
in  her  canoe  all  alone,  in  order  to  barter  with  distant  tribes, 
among  whom  furs  are  cheap.  She  speaks  several  dialects,  and 
Chinook  fluently,  and  this  acquirement  has  given  her  great 
pecuniary  advantage.  The  great  Tyee  lady  is  '*  fat  and  forty," 
is  always  beaming,  dresses  in  fashion,  and  on  "  steamer  days" 
and  Sundays,  wears  an  abundance  of  jewelry.  She  is  the 
nabob  of  the  village. 


THE   SITKAN  MISSION. 


Its  Growth--  The  Industrial  Department  --  A  Live- 
ly Prayer  Meeting  --  Enemies  of  the  Mission  - 
What  of  their  Future? 


Sitka,  July  1888. 

Among  the  places  of  interest  in  this  quaint  town,  the  Mis- 
sion holds  the  first  rank.  Long  before  the  tourist  reaches  the 
capital,  he  has  heard,  the  story  of  its  one  live  institution,  and, 
as  soon  as  he  sets  foot  on  shore,  taking  in  the  Greek  church 
on  the  way,  he  makes  a  bee-line  for  it.  Although  quite  young, 
it  has  a  national  reputation.  It  is  beautifully  situated  on  a 
curve  of  the  bay,  just  outside  the  old  village  limits,  Init  quite  in 
sight  of  the  town. 

Like  all  great  successful  enterprises,  it  is  a  grov/th, 
although  its  hopeful  beginning  in  April,  1880,  can  scarcely  %e 
called  a  growth,  for  it  jumped  into  notoriety  by  registering  l 
the  opening  103  pupils,  chiefly  Indian  children. 

Miss  Olinda  Austin,  the  first  teacher,  was  sent  out  h)  i< 
mission  society  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Under  her  niaii- 
agement,  the  number  soon  increased  so  as  to  include  nearly  all 
the  native  childre  not  suitable  age,  and  e\en  parents  applied 
for  admission,  but  could  not  be  received  for  want  of  rooru. 
From  a  day  school  it  (itveloped  into  a  boarding  school, 
in  this  way  :  Some  o^  the  boys  applied  to  the  teacher 
for  permisssion  to  live  in  the  school-house,  because,  as  thty 
alleged,  there  was  so   much  drinking,  talking   and  carousing 


mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmsmmmmmm 


55 


at  home,  that  they  could  not  stud3\  Wlien  the  teacher- 
told  them  that  there  were  no  accommoilations  for  them, 
they  replied  that  they  would  provide  for  themselves,  and 
having  permission  to  try  the  experiment,  seven  native 
boys  voluntarily  left  their  homes,  each  with  blanket  and 
dry  provisions,  and  took  up  their  abode  in  a  vacant  room. 
Soon  other  boys  joined  them,  and  thus  commenced  the  board- 
ing department  of  the  school. 

.  Early  in  1881,  Capt.  Glass  of  the  U.  S.  steamship  James- 
town, then  stationed  in  Sitka,  established  a  rule,  "  compelling 
the  attendance  of  the  nati\e  children  upon  the  school."  He 
also  ordered  Indian -town  to  ue  cleaned  up,  ditches  to  be  dug 
around  the  houses  for  drainage,  the  houses  to  be  numbered,  and 
a  neat  tin  label  to  be  appended  to  the  neck  of  each  child, 
contfc^ining  his  or  her  numl)er.  t  vgether  with  the  nuudjer  of  his 
house.  With  these  numbers  and  the  teacher's  register  as  guides, 
a  truant  could  be  traced  to  his  home,  and  the  father  called 
upon  to  account  for  the  absence.  These  were  arbitrary  pro- 
ceedings, but,  as  there  was  no  civil  law  to  meet  the  case,  the 
naval  officer  assumed  the  reviponsibility,  and  broke  up  truancy. 
The  school  continued  to  gvo-.v,.  not  only  in  numbers,  but  also 
in  the  influence  which  it  gained  over  th^  adult  native  popti- 
lation.     There  are  now  175  pupils. 

A  great  revival  occurred  in  ]88t.  Nearly  all  the  larger 
pupils  and  many  of  the  parents  pruf^ssed  religion,  and  a  church 
was  organized,  which,  excepting  the  Greek  church,  is  the  only 
one  existing  in  the  capital.  It  now  numbers  more  than  a  hun- 
dred members. 

In  1885,  by  the  advice  of  the  Mission  Society,  an  Indus- 
trial and  Training  school  was  added,,  to  which  Congress  gave  a 
liberal  support  at  a  fixed  price  per  pupil.  Then  cam''  the  call 
for  more  buildings,  and  other  teachers  and  instructors  in  the 
trades,  and  the  benevolent  responded  cheerfully  and  generously. 
Mrs.  Elliott  F.  Shepard,  a  descendant  of  the  Vanderbilts  of  New 


56 


York,  contributed  [the  means  to  erect  a  carpenter's  shop,  a 
shoe-shop,  and  a  hospital  for  gitls,  and  others  have  with  like 
generosity,  assisted  the  Missionary  Society  in  building  and  fur- 
nishing a  blacksmith's  shop,  a  printing  office,  and  a  laundry, 
so  that  the  institution  now  numbers  a  dozen  structures,  two  of 
them  quite  large. 

Within  five  years,  the  average  time  the  pupils  spend  in 
school,  they  acquire  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  English 
language,  and  show  proficiency  in  reading,  writing,  and  in 
mathematics.  The  girls  learn  to  cook,  sew,  knit,  make 
garments,  and  do  laundry- work  ;  the  boys,  to  build  houses, 
make  furniture,  to  do  work  in  the  lathe,  in  the  shoe  and  black- 
smith's shop,  and  are  quite  as  expert  in  carving  as  the  girls  are 
in  embroidery, — both  do  excellent  work. 

They  are  studious  in  school,  and  altliough  their  minds 
work  slowly,  they  are  patient  and  persevering.  They  are  neat  in 
person,  note  carefully  the  conduct  of  visitors,  and  desire  to 
imitate  "Boston  people"  as  they  call  tourists;  but  they  are 
sharp  critics  when  "Boston"  behaves  itself  unseemly.  At 
meal-time  they  march  quietly  to  their  places,  ask  a  blessing  by 
singing  a  few  lines,  take  their  seats  at  a  signal,  eat  with  a  fork, 
use  a  napkin,  make  little  clatter  of  dishes,  and  speak  no  words 
above  a  whisper  while  at  the  table.  The  young  men  make  a 
fine  appearance  in  a  military  parade,  and  are  passionately  fond 
of  the  drill,  and  when,  at  one  of  their  exhibitions,  the  writer 
counseled  them  to  be  loyal  to  the  Union,  they  warmly 
applauded. 

Some  of  the  whites  in  the  village,  considering  their  infer- 
iority in  numbers  in  comparison  to  that  of  the  Indians,  have 
protested  against  the  policy  of  allowing  these  cadets  to  have 
real  muskets  for  drill,  and  when,  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  these 
dusky  young  soldiers  in  line  marched  proudly  through  the  town,  a 
few  terror-stricken  people  were  loud  in  their  denunciations  of 
such  exhibitions  as  that  of  Indians  under  arms  ;  but  every  man 


mamm 


■Hi 


67 


of  them,  had  there  been  occasion,  would  have  stoutly  defended 
the  flag  under  which  he  was  marching,  and  all  who  sought  pro- 
tection under  its  sheltering  folds. 

In  their  celebration  of  Fourth  of  July  they  sang  patriotic 
songs,  read  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  listened  to  an 
oration  by  a  native,  and  cheered  the  flag.  During  the  recep- 
tion which,  by  permission,  they  gave  in  the  evening,  they  were 
quite  as  decorous  as  would  be  an  equal  number  of  white  boys 
and  girls.  Their  parents  came  also,  and  looked  on,  apparently 
delighted. 

For  some  time  past  these  children  have  all  been  indentured 
to  the  Mission  for  a  term  of  years,  to  be  clothed,  fed  and 
trained  as  the  children  of  a  great  family.  The  object  in  binding 
them  legally  is  to  keep  them  in  a  healthful  atmosphere,  morally 
and  physically,  and  away  from  debasing  influences.  The  re- 
gime of  the  Mission  is  similar  to  that  which  obtains  in  our 
military  and  naval  schools,  except  that  more  of  parental  tender- 
ness is  exercised  in  the  case  of  the  native. 

Besides   their  Thlingkit   names,   these     pupils  often    tak 
those  of  noted  persons  of  whom  they  have  heard,  or  of  their 
benefactors, — people  who  pay  for  the  maintenance   of  a  child 
in  the  mission. 

Our  table-waiter  at  the  little  hotel  in  Sitka,  had  assumed 
.'orhis  newnomen,  ''Benjamin  Butler,"or  more  briefly,  "Ben," 
as  he  is  known  in  the  political  world. 

The  change  wrought  in  their  condition  is  indeed  mar- 
velous. They  are  civilized  and  seemed  to  be  pleased  witli  their 
new  life,  and  a  large  majority  of  the  students  are  leading 
exemplary.  Christian  lives. 

Now  let  any  one  look  into  the  wigwams,  malodorous  and 
filthy  to  the  last  degree  of  endurance,  in  which  these  children 
passed  their  first  years,  and  then  observe  them  in  school,  on  the 
play-ground,  and  in  the  shops,  clean,  cheerful,  industrious, 
*'  clothed  and  in  their  right  mind,"  and  we  think  he  will  be 
quite  reaOy  to  exclaim,   '*  What  God  hath  wrought." 


08 


The  prayer-meetings  for  adults  are  unique.  Their  chaplain, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Austin,  opens  the  meetings,  and  then  tells  them 
that  the  further  exercises  are  in  their  hands.  Immediately  a 
a  native  arises  and  offers  prayer  or  brief  remarks,  all  in  the 
Thlingkit  tongue,  and  another  verse  is  sung.  Scarcely  before 
its  last  note  is  ended,  another  is  on  his  feet,  sometimes  two  or 
three  at  a  time  ;  and  thus  there  is  a  rapid  alternation  of  song 
and  prayer  for  thirty  minutes,  and  even  at  that  they  complain 
that  the  time  allotted  is  too  brief,  for  all  have  not  had  a  chance. 
And  what  a  lesson  this  is  for  participants  in  similar  meetings  in 
civilized  communities. 

Even  the  great  Tyee  lady,  of  whom  mention  has  been  made 
before,  the  Mrs.  Croesus  of  the  rancherie,  Princess  Tom,  loaded 
with  bangles  and  rings, and  arrayed  in  scarlet  and  yellow,  and 
envied  by  all  the  other  belles  of  the  tribe,  is  not  ashamed  to 
take  her  place  among  the  humblest  of  her  sisters,  and  offer 
prayer  to  the  same  Savior  that  they  adore. 

The  Mission  with  its  open  doors,  and  comforts  within, 
has  become  a  "  refuge  for  those  fleeing  from  death,  the  house  of 
hope  to  the  starving  and  friendless, and  an  asylum  for  girlhood, 
and  escaping  slaves."  Two  or  three  cases  out  of  many  will 
illustrate  :  A  little  girl,  ten  years  of  age,  was  accused  of  being 
a  witch,  and  two  chiefs  were  dragging  her,  bound  by  a  rope,  to 
to  their  prison  for  such  persons.  Rev.  Mr.  Austin  rescued  her, 
and  she  found  a  refuge  in  the  Mission.  "A  girl  of  fourteen,  about 
to  be  sold  into  a  life  of  sin  for  the  benefit  of  a  relative,  escaped 
from  her  grandmother  who  was  guarding  her,  and  fled  to  the 
school."  A  boy  who  had  been  sold  as  a  slave  escaped,  and 
sought  protection  in  this  home  of  the  friendless.  In  view  of 
the  wonderful  changes  that  have  been  wrought  in  the  lives  of 
these  people,  it  seems,  at  first  thought,  almost  incredible  that 
many  white  inhabitants  of  Sitka  are  bitter  enemies  of  the  Mis- 
sion ;  but  this  opposition  can  be  accounted  for  in  most  cases. 
Because  of  this  excellent   work,  the  Greek  church  has  fewer 


69 

communicants,  and  the  parochial  school  a  less  number  of  pupils; 
whiskey-dealers  lose  custom,  traders  make  less  profits,  and  the 
impure  find  no  favor  with  the  chaste;  and  all  these  classes  com- 
bined have  been  powenul  enough  to  win  to  their  party  some  of 
the  government  officials. 

The  teachers  have  repeatedly  been  summoned  before  the 
court  for  alleged  illegal  acts,  and  fined.  The  superintendent, 
Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson,  D.  D.,  was  imprisoned  for  rescuing 
girls  from  leading  shameless  lives,  and  all  the  managers  have 
been  denounced  in  public  meetings  for  inducing  the  native  to 
m?ike  a  man  of  himself;  but  the  influence  of  the  Mission  still 
grows,  and  bids  fa-r  to  live  down  all  opposition.  Even  during 
the  present  summer,  the  U.  S.  Judge  remitted  a  fine  he  had  im- 
posed upon  Prof.  Kelley,  doubtless  because  he  had  found  that 
his  decision  was  an  unpopular  one. 

The  Mission  has  already  become  the  most  important  in- 
stitution in  Alaska  for  civilizing  the  native,  and  seems  to  have 
almost  solved  the  Indian  problem  in  our  country.  Just  one 
•question  awaits  an  answer  in  bitka— what  shall  be  done  with 
the  Indian  when  he  has  become  civilized  and  educated  ?  There 
are  no  manufactories  in  town,  ami  there  is  little  call  for  labor 

in  any  of  the  trades. 

The  graduate  is  no  longer  an  Indian,— even  his  relatives 
sneer  at  him  because  he  lias  departed  from  their  customb.  He 
is  above  them  and  they  will  have  no  intercourse  with  him, 
unless  he  resumes  the  breech-clout,  which  a  few  do.  The 
whites  do  not  receive  him  into  favor,  because,  as  they  alle;^e, 
he  is  still  a  "  Si  wash,"  a  term  used  when  speaking  with  con- 
tempt of  an  Indian,— and  for  menial  service  they  prefer  a 
Chinaman.  The  poor  fellow  has  been  touched  with  refinenv  nt 
enough  to  make  him  feel  more  keenly  his  isolation.  A  few  find 
work  in  the  scattered  industries  along  the  coast,  but  the  fact 
that  they  have  been  taught  not  to  labor  on  Sunday  shuts  niuny 
out  from  employment. 


60 


In  view  of  these  discouragements  many  boys  will  not 
attend  the  school,  and  the  question  has  been  agitated,  even  in 
enlightened  communities  ;  does  education,  after  all,  make  the 
Indian  a  better  man  ?  The  answer  has  almost  invariably  been 
given  in  the  affirmative  by  those  best  qualified  to  know  :  and 
even  traders  and  other  enemies  of  missions  are  compelled  to 
acknowledge  that  the  teacher  and  the  preacher  have  wrought  a 
great  change  for  good  among  them. 

Taking  another  step  in  the  attempt  to  improve  the  condi- 
tion of  the  pupils  in  the  school  in  Sitka,  the  managers  have 
commenced  to  colonize  them  ;  that  is,  as  soon  as  a  young  man 
graduates,  they  advise  him  to  marry  some  one  of  the  girls  of  his 
class,  and  to  encourage  him  to  take  this  step,  and  keep  away 
from  his  tribe,  they  furnish  him  with  the  materials  with  which  to 
build  a  cottage  on  the  portion  of  the  Mission  grounds  assigned 
for  this  purpose.  The  enemies  of  the  school  protested  against 
the  policy  of  establishing  another  Indian  division  within  the 
town  limits,  but  three  neat  cottages  are  already  occupied,  and 
more  will  be  erected  when  needed. 

The  superintendent  finds  employment  for  these  new  fami- 
lies as  best  he  can,  and  as  soon  as  the  institution  can  command 
the  means  to  build  a  sa'v  inill  and  a  salmon  cannery  the  prob- 
lem will  be  solved  without  resorting  to  migration.  The  solution 
has  already  been  given  at  Metlakahtla,  and  this  will  be  the  sub- 
ject of  my  next  communication. 

Note. — According  to  an  agreement  entered  into  by  the  four  denom- 
inations,— when,  we  do  not  know, — the  southeastern  part  of  Alaska  was 
assigned  to  the  Presbyterians  as  their  missionary  ground,  the  Youkon 
valley  to  the  Episcopalians,  and  the  great  northwest  portions,  including  the 
Aleutian  Islands,  to  the  Baptists  and  Methodists. 


THE  STORY   OF  METLAKAHTLA. 


William   Duncan's   Glorious    Work  -  -  A    Cannibal 

Tribe  Converted  -  -  A  Model  Conununity,  and  How 

Bigotry  Destroyed  It   -Mr,  Duncan  Removed- - 

The  Indians  Despoiled  of  their  Property -- 

They  Seeh  Refuge  on  American  Soil-- 

And  Begin  life  Anew. 


(( 


Victoria,  B.  C.,  August,  1888. 

At  Columbia,  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific,  a  practical 
missionary  genius  named  William  Duncan,  has  succeeded  in 
civilizing  a  body  of  Indians,  degraded  by  cannibalism,  and,  at 
his  Metlakahtla  mission,  stands  at  the  head  of  a  community  of 
some  thousand  persons,  which  has  a  larger  church  than  is. to  be 
found  between  there  and  San  Francisco.  Testimony  to  the 
value  of  the  results  was  borne  in  1376,  by  Lord  Dufferin,  then 
Governor-general  of  Canada,  who  declared  that  he  could  hardly 
find  words  to  express  his  astonishment  at  what  he  witnessed." 
— EncyclopcBciia  Britannic  a. 

Some  time  in  1856,  the  Englisi>  Missionary  Society  of  Lon- 
don, having  learned  that  this  Mi.  Duncr^n  had  volunteered  to 
go  as  a  missionary  among  the  Indian  tribes  of  BritishColumbia, 
accepted  his  offer,  and  sent  him  out  the  next  year  under  their 
auspices.  He  left  a  lucrative  position  in  Englan.i  to  accept  the 
munificent  salary  of  £100  a  year  !  He  arrived  in  Victoria,  via 
Cape  Horn,  and  there  decided  to  work  among  the  tribes  near 
Fort  Simpson,  a  trading  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
near  the  coasl,  about  six  hundred  miles  north  from  Victoria. 


ill 


02 


Sir  James  Douglass,  then  governor  of  the  territory,  endeav- 
ored by  the  strongest  arguments  that  he  could  bring  to  bear 
upon  him  to  dissuade  him  from  his  purpose,  declaring  that  from 
hi  knowledge  of  them,  he  would  fall  a  sacrifice,  swift  and 
gh  'Stly,  to  the  murderous  instincts  of  those  barbarous  hordes ; 
]>u  Vi.  Duncan,  trusting  in  the  Higher  Power  which  he  be- 
lie- ed  had  led  him  to  this  coast,  kept  his  resolution  and  went. 

When  he  arrived  he  soon  learned  to  what  jeopardy  he  had 
exposed  himself.  Their  ferocity  had  compelled  the  Company 
to  lake  extreme  measures  for  safety.  The  fort  was  strongly 
forafied;  and,  with  few  exceptions,  no  [ndian  was  allowed  with- 
in its  W3.11s,  All  goods  to  and  from  the  post  were  conveyed 
under  a  strong  escort,  and  trading  was  carried  on  through  a 
small  window;  and  even  this  was  marked  on  its  casings  with 
numerous  bullets. 

J'hese  savages  were  ';annibals.  Tiiey  held  captives  as 
slaves,  and  butchered  and  ate  tliem  at  will.  They  believed  in 
witchcraft,  in  the  scorcery  of  the  Shamans,  and  in  devils  and 
evil  spirits  which  they  propitiated  by  sickening  orgies.  They 
were  polygamists,  and  sold  their  daughters  for  immoral  pur- 
poses to  traders  and  whisky  dealers. 

Shortly  after  his  arrival,  Mr.  Duncan  witnessed,  from  the 
wall  of  the  fort,  a  scene  which  almost  discouraged  him  :  "  A 
party  of  painted  and  bedecked  cannibals  tore,  limb  from  limb, 
the  body  of  a  woman  who  had  just  been  foully  murdered  by  a 
chief,  each  struggling  for  a  morsel  of  the  human  flesh  which  they 
devoured,  accompanying  their  fiendish  orgies  with  howls  and 
weird  beat  of  their  medicine  drums." 

Such  was  his  introduction  to  the  Tsimpshean  Indians  in 
October,  1857,  and  this  incident  gave  him  his  first  lesson  in  his 
work. 

For  the  first  eight  months  he  kept  himself  within  the  fortifi- 
cation, observing  their  conduct  as  best  he  could  from  the  walls, 
and  studying  and  reducing  to  writing  their  language  under    the 


ti 
tl 

c( 

S2 
Sll 


68 


tutorship  of  a  friendly  Indian.  Then  he  ventured  out,  and,  to 
their  astonishment,  began  to  talk  to  them  in  their  own  tongue. 

In  his  interviews  with  them  he  endeavored  to  win  their 
confidence,  first  by  giving  cheap  presents  to  the  children,  then 
by  taking  an  interest  in  their  affairs,  by  counseling  them,  at  the 
same  time  "  telling  them  about  God,  their  Creator,  and  per- 
suading them  to  love  Him  as  their  best  friend." 

Finally,  contrary  to  the  custom  of  the  white  men  whom 
they  had  before  known,  he  began  to  trust  them,  and  that,  he 
says,  was  the  secret  of  his  success.  Then  they  trusted  him, 
listened  to  him,  and  believed  him. 

After  a  time  Mr.  Duncan  '*  opened  a  school  at  the  house 
of  one  of  the  chiefs,  and  it  was  attended  by  both  children  and 
adults."  Finding  the  Indians  responsive,  with  the  assistance 
of  a  few  of  his  most  zealous  followers,  he  erected  a  log  school 
house,  and  soon  had  an  attendance  of  200.  But,  in  all  his 
efforts  he  had  to  contend  against  the  opposition  of  fur  traders, 
whisky  dealers,  soldiers  and  bad  Indians. 

Hence,  after  he  had  gathered  a  little  church  of  about  fifty 
converts,  he  determined  to  seek  another  location,  remote,  from 
these  evil  influences,  and  he  selected  a  place  called  Met-la-kaht- 
la,  a  site  of  one  of  the  ancient  Tsimpshean  villages,  about 
twenty  miles  from  Fort  Simpson.  To  this  place  he  resolved 
that  no  one  should  be  admitted  as  a  resident  who  did  not  sub- 
scribe to  certain  rules,  the  substance  of  which  is  as  follows  : 

To  give  up  "ahlied,"  or  devil-worship,  to  cease  to  call 
medicine  men  when  ill,  to  stop  gambling,  painting  their  faces, 
using  intoxicating  drinks,  to  rest  on  the  Sabbath,  to  attend  re- 
ligious instruction,  to  send  their  children  to  school,  to  be 
cleanly,  industrious,  peaceful,  honest  in  trade,  to  build  neat 
houses  and  to  pay  village  tax. 

Mr.  Duncan  organized  a  village  council  of  twelve,  three  of 
whom  were  chiefs,  and  a  police  force,  and  the  inhabitants  had 
occasion  to  know,  Mr.  Duncan  not  excepted,  that  they  were  x->ot 


Hi' 


64 


meiely  figure-heads.  Gradually  they  became  educated  in  the 
principles  of  equity  and  order,  grew  to  be  industrious,  and 
seemed  to  be  pleased  with  their  changed  mode  of  life. 

For  twenty  years  and  more  they  continued  to  prosper  until 
a  new  generation  arose  who  knew  no  other  manner  of  living. 
They  built  a  saw-mill,  and  then  better  houses,  laid  sewers, 
made  roads  and  sidewalks,  erected  a  church  building  at  an  ex- 
pense of  ten  thousand  dollars,  built  a  fine  school  house,  and 
two  houses  for  the  entertainment  of  other  Indians  who  came 
there  to  trade.  They  established  a  co-operative  store  that 
brought  profit  to  the  stockholders, — a  great  surprise  to  them. 
They  dug  wells,  built  a  cannery,  an  assembly  hall,  offices,  and 
carpenters'  and  blacksmiths'  shops,  and  several  practiced  the 
shoemaker's  trade.  They  were  taught  how  to  make  soap,  and 
then  its  use,  and    how  to  weave  cloth. 

And  Mr.  Duncan  himself  had  first  to  be  educated  in  the 
trades  which  he  established,  and,  for  this  purpose,  he  went  to 
England,  and  there,  like  Peter  the  Great  of  Russia,  he  took 
lessons  in  the  various  manufactories.  In  all  his  plans,  two  ideas, 
that  they  might  be  inclined  to  lead  Christian  lives,  and  become 
self-supporting  and  independent,  seemed  to  have  been  promi- 
nent J  and  these  two  objects  pursued  to  their  fulfillment,  will, 
in  our  opinion,  solve  the  "Indian  problem,"  not  only  in 
British  Columbia,  but    in  the  United  States. 

In  no  one  effort  did  Mr.  Duncan  reveal  his  fitness  for  his 
work  more  than  in  gradually  modifying  their  domestic  habits, 
without  shocking  them  by  a  sudden  change,  and  he  seems  to 
have  felt  his  way  along  the  line  of  procedure  by  a  species  of 
development. 

At  first,  each  family  in  the  village  had  a  separate  cottage, 
but  the  Indians,  having  be  n  accustomed  to  herd  together,  sev- 
eral families  in  one  large  hut,  were  lonesome,  and  hence,  back 
of  each  two  houses  and  coupling  both,  he  built  a  general  assem- 
biy-room  for  the  two  families,  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  a 


65 


wigwam,  having  a  hearth  in  the  center,  and  a  large  opening  in 
the  roof  for  the  escape  of  smoke.  This  arrangement  answered 
Mr.  Duncan's  idea  of  family  privacy,  and  their  idea  of  social 
privileges. 

Again,  he  insisted  upon  their  taking  one  meal  each  day  as 
civilized  people,  sitting  at  the  table  and  using  knives  and  forks, 
and  left  them  free  to  take  their  food  at  other  ineals,  both  in  kind 
and  manner,  as  they  chose.  They  soon  adopted  the  white 
mail's  customs  at  every  repast. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  his  labors  were  herculean,  for  he 
not  only  taught  school  three  hours  a  day,  but  he  also  superin- 
tended the  manufactories,  received  traders  and  visitors,  presided 
at  the  village  council,  was  sanitary  engineer  and  overseer,  set- 
tled disputes,  conducted  a  large  Sunday  school,  and  preached 
three  times  a  week.     To  the  Indians  he  seemed  ubiquitous. 

Briefly,  he  was  teacher,  pastor,  magistrate,  and  patriarch, 
and  the  whole  colony  loved  him  as  a  father,  for  he  was  true  and 
kind,  though  decided,  in  all  his  dealings  with  them.  The 
great  wonder  is,  that  before  he  had  prepared  trained  assistants, 
he  did  not  utterly  collapse  under  the  burden,  for  he  was  gener- 
ally in  the  harness  fifteen  hours  a  day. 

At  length  he  had  the  gratification  of  seeing  as  the  fruit  of 
his  labors,  a  community  of  twelve  hundred  happy,  thrifty, 
educated,  well-dressed,  well-behaved,  civilized,  Christianized 
natives,  a  marvel  in  the  history  of  missions  on  this  continent 
— all  brought  about  by  the  wise  counsel  and  firm-handed 
guidance  of  a  Christian  hero. 

Lord  Dufferin  gave  his  estimate  of  the  value  of  his  labors 
in  a  speech  before  the  provincial  parliament  cf  British 
Columbia,  in  1876,  in  these  words  :  "I  have  visited  Mr.  Dun- 
can's wonderful  settlement  at  Metlakahtla  and  have  thus  been 
enabled  to  realize  what  scenes  of  primitive  peace  and  innocence, 
of  idylic  beauty  and  materia,!  comfort,  can  be  presented  by  the 
stalwart  men  and  comely  maidens  of  an  Indian  community,  under 


66 


the  wise  administration  of  a  judicious  and  devoted  Christian 
minister."  The  Bishop  of  Columbia  said  of  this  work  :  "  All 
former  work,  varied  and  interesting  and  impressive  as  minis- 
terial life  is,  seems  insignificant  before  this  manifest  power  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  touching  the  heart  and  enlightening  the 
understanding  of  so  many  recently  buried  in  the  darkness  and 
misery  of  ignorant  and  cruel  superstition." 

The  Church  Mission  Society,  under  whose  auspices  Mr. 
Duncan  was  prosecuting  his  labors,  so  approved  of  his  manage- 
ment, that  they  sent  circulars  containing  an  outline  of  his  plans 
to  other  missions  under  their  control,  and  recommended  their 
leaders  to  also  make  industrial  instruction  a  leading  feature  of 
their  work. 

In  brief,  the  triumph  of  the  mission  seems  to  have  been  a 
a  matter  generally  conceded  by  all  except  the  traders,  and 
their  opposition  arose,  of  course,  from  self-interest.  Bishops, 
admirals,  captains,  honorables,  and  a  long  list  of  visitors, 
warmly    expressed   their    admiration  of  the   work. 

But  after  twenty-five  years  of  prosperity  and  sunshine,  clouds 
began  to  hover  over  the  little  community.  Mr.  Duncan  was  a 
layman,  and  when  urged  to  "take  orders,"  he  answered  that  he 
thought  he  could  do  more  good  in  the  capacity  of  teacher  and 
general  manager,  than  to  add  to  those  offices  that  of  ordained 
minister.  Clergymen  from  Victoria  and  other  places  could,  and 
did  come,  to  officiate  in  the  more  important  ordinances  of  the 
Church,  and  there  was  more  pressing  need  for  an  industrial 
teacher  than  for  a  priest.  But  Mr.  Duncan's  suggestions  were 
disregarded,  and  right  here  began  the  rupture  that  has  brought 
religion  into  disgrace,  and  ruined  the  once  united,  happy, 
and  prosperous  colony.  The  Society,  yielding  to  ecclesiastical 
pressure,  sent  them  a  bishop. 

From  the  letters  and  voluminous  reports  we  have  read,  and 
from  the  numerous  verbal  accounts  we  have  listened  to,  pro  a.nd 
con,  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion,  that  this  particular  bishop 


h 

CI 


et 


was  the  wrong  man  for  the  place, — that  ht;  was  dictatorial  and 
bigoted.  Being  a  high  churchman,  he  sharply  criticised  what 
he  termed  Mr.  Duncan's  loose  views  in  regard  to  the  practice  of 
certain  Church  forms  and  ceremonies.  He  introduced  so  much 
of  pomp  and  color  and  ceremony  in  his  ministrations,  that  the 
pecf  «le  turned  in  astonishment  to  their  leader  for  an  explanation. 
He  claimed  to  be  head  of  the  mission  by  virtue  of  his  office. 
He  demanded  the  accounts  of  the  colony,  and  when  produced, 
he  charged  the  man  who  had  made  Metlakahtla  what  it  was,  with 
misappropriating  funds,  and  claimed  that  all  the  moneys  sent 
by  individuals  to  Mr.  Duncan  personally,  and  for  a  specific  pur- 
pose, were  the  property  of  the  society.  These  moneys  had  all 
been  nvested  in  public  improvements,  ana  Mr.  Duncan  be- 
lieved that  they  belonged  to  the  colony. 

It  is  needless  to  give  further  details  of  the  rupture,  nor  is 
it  difficult  to  conjecture  the  result.  Two  factions  arose.  About 
sixty  gave  adherence  to  the  Bishop,  a  thousand  remained  loyal 
to  their  leader,  and  some  went  back  to  their  old  ways,  declar- 
ing that  since  Christians  quarreled  thus,  they  were  no  better  than 
savages. 

At  length  the  Mission  Society  felt  called  upon  to  sustain  the 
bishop,  and  consequently,  to  dismiss  Mr.  Duncan.  The  Society 
also  claimed  the  land  on  which  the  little  community  had  erected 
their  public  buildings,  and  the  government  confirmed  that 
claim  by  declaring  that  "all  public  lands  belonged  to  the 
Queen;"  although  Lord  Dufferin,  governor-general  of  the 
dominion,  had  assured  the  Indians  that  "  they  had  a  j^  e- 
scriptive  right  to  their  lands,"  and  that  they  should  not  be 
deprived  of  them  without  compensation.  Consternation  seized 
the  poor  Indians,  and  they  began  to  concert  plans  for  a  rebellion. 
The  minister  of  the  interior  wrote,  in  a  bundle  of  negatives, 
thus  :  "If  there  has  not  been  an  Indian  war,  it  is  not  because 
there  has  been  no  injustice." 


68 


With  admirable  tact  Mr.  Duncan  suppressed  attempts  to  do 
violence,  and  went  to  England  and  to  Ottawa  seeking  relief. 
He  obtained  promises,  but  relief  never  came.  Then  ne 
resigned  his  position  as  president  of  the  village  council, 
and  prepared  to  leave  the  colony,  thinking  that  by  his  absence 
the  breach  might  be  healed  ;  but  the  Indians,  in  full  assembly, 
unanimously  recalled  him  to  the  leadership,  promising  to  stand 
by  him  at  all  hazards.  By  the  advice  of  his  friends  in  Victoria 
he  consented  to  return  after  a,  short  vacation. 

Hut  what  could  the  people  do  ?  They  could  not  live  in 
peace  with  the  Bishop,  and  they  had  already  been  informed  that 
the  adherents  of  Mr.  Duncan  had  no  claim  to  the  mission 
grounds,  nor  to  the  soil  on  which  their  ancestors  had  lived 
for  a  century.  Consequently,  to  abandon  the  place  seemed  to 
be  the  only  alternative ;  and  finally  they  resolved  to  seek  a 
refuge  beyond  the  dominion  of  ecclesiastical  tyranny.  Annette 
Island  in  Alaska,  uninhabited,  and  only  ninety  miles  distant, 
seemed  to  be  a  favorable  location. 

Mr.  Duncan  was  deputed  by  the  Indians  to  go  to  Washing- 
ton and  obtain,  if  possible,  the  permission  to  settle  in  that  island, 
and  such  exemptions  from  duties  as  could  legally  be  granted 
them.       He  bore   with  him  a  remarkable  document,  a  part  of 

which  is  here  copied  : 

Victoria,  E.  C.,  Nov.  16,  1886. 

To  the  Lovers  of  Civil  and  Religious  r.iberty  in  America: 

The  bearer,  Mr.  William  Dui.can,  for  thirty  years  a  de- 
voted missionary  of  religion  and  civilization  in  North  British 
America  *  *  is. on  his  way  to  Washington,  deputed  by  the 
native  Christian  brethren  of  Metlakahtla  to  confer  with  the 
United  States  authorities  on  matters  affecting  their  interests  and 
desires. 

Like  the  Pilgrim  fathers  of  old,  thi:.  afflicted  but  prosper- 
ing and  thrifty  flock  seek  a  refuge  from  grievous  wrongs,  and 
hope  to  find  it  under  the  American  flrg. 


69 


They  prefer  abandoning  the  home  of  their  fathers,  and  the 
precious  fruits  of  their  industry,  to  subruitting  to  the  violent 
seizure  of  their  lands,  arid  the  intolerable  stings  of  icligious 
greed  and  interference,  *"         *         *         *         '■''     '   *         ''''' 

•  This  document  was  signed  by  Bishop  Cridge,  B.W„  Pearse 
surveyor-general.  Senator  Macdonald  of  the  Dominion  Parlia- 
liament,  and  by  several  other  prominent  citizens  of  Victoria. 
The  Royalists  of  the  province  call  this  a  ''treasonable  docu- 
ment." It  is  a  sharp  arraignment  for  illiberality  and  intoler- 
ance, but  it  caniiot  be  gainsaid. 

The  secretary  of  the  treasu  y  at  Washington  remitted  the 
duties  on  their  effects,  and  the  authorities  gave  the  Indians  a 
pledge  that,  "when  the  general  land-laws  of  the  United  States 
were  extended  to  Alaska,  ample  provision  would  be  made  for 
all  law-abiding  inhabitants."  Relying  on  these  promises,  the 
little  colony,  with  sad  hearts,  began  last  summer  to  remove, 
like  the  Pilgrims,  to  their  Plymouth  Rock,  new  Metlakahtla. 
Then  came  the  question  of  weum  and  /ui/m  .; — how  much  of  the 
property  could  they  take  with  them  ?  When  they  were  told 
they  could  claim  nothing  of  all  the  monuments  of  tlieir  labor, 
save  their  personal  effects,  they  appealed  to  the  charitable  and 
benevolent  of  the  United  States  to  obtain  means  'for  the  trans- 
fer,and  wherever  Mr.  Duncan  told  the  story  of  their  wrongs, 
the  people  responded  generously. 

Now  most  of  the  dwellings'  of  the  old  mission  .^re  unoccu- 
pied, the  shops  and  the  manufactories  are  idle, — it  is  a  "deserted 
village."  A  few  gather  for  worship  in  the  great  church  that  once 
was  crowded,  and  the  Bishop  keeps  up  a  show  of  activity,  but 
the  heart  of  the  colony  has  gone.  Doubtless  the  *  Bishop  and 
the  government  see  their  mistake,  and  would  gladly  undo  the 
wrong,  but  it  is  too  late.  The  stricken,  wronged,  plundered 
people  are  sheltered  under  the  protecting  wing  of  a  great  nation 
that  is  able  and  willing  to  shield  the  weakest  refugee. 

*The  Bishop  has  recently  returned  to  England. 


m 

IIS 


70 

These  colonists  are  poor,  but  hopeful,  and  they  have 
commenced  to  build  their  new  city  with  all  the  ardor  they  ex- 
hibited  in  their  earlier  efforts  to  rear  for  themselves  neat  and 
pleasant  homes,  feeling  that  their  new  possessions  are  theirs 
permanently,  and  not  to  be  taken  away  by  the  stupidity  of  a 
priest,  or  by  official  plundering. 

xMr.  Duncan  gray-haired,  and  weary,  still  leads  them,  en- 
couraging them   by  his  cheering,  words    to  live  upright   lives 
and  to  suffer  all  for  the  Master  by  whose  spirit  they  have  been 
lifted  up  from  the  condition  of  cannibals  to  become  « living 
epistles."  ^ 

There  has  been  no  attempt  in  this  sketch  to  glorify  this 
remarkable  man,-it  is  a  simple  record  of  well-attested  facts 
Being  human,  and  stung  as  he  was  by  the  keenest  provocations^ 
that  of  obstructing  his  cherished  and  successful  work  by  ec- 
clesiastical intermeddling,  he  made  mistakes;  but  his  great 
heart  was  always  right,  and,  living  a  simple,  earnest.  Christian 
lite,  he  has  won  respect,  even  from  his  enemies. 

A  resident  of  Victoria,  a  lady  who  is  a  shrewd  observer 
of  men  and  things,  and  who  has  been  acquainted  with  the  mis- 
sion irom  its  beginning,  epitomizes  her  opinions  of  it  in  these 
words  :  -The  conversion  of  the  Tsimpshean  Indians  has  no 
paraHel  in  the  history  of  Christan  work  in  all  British  America 
but  the  wonder  bf  Metlakahtla  is  Mr.  Duncan." 


PUGET  SOUND. 


Scenery  --  Cities  --  Growth  --  Beautiful  Victoria. 


Victoria,  August,  1888. 
At  present,  the  tide  of  migration  in   the  United  States  is 
toward  the  great   unoccupied  Northwest,  chiefly  by  Scandinj- 

vians.  ' 

During  the  past  Spring  and  present  Summer  they  have  occn 
pouring  into  Oregon  and  Washington  Territory  at  the  rate  of 
one  thousand  a  month.  The  Dane  drifts  naturally  to  the  valleys 
and  lowlands,— the  Swede  and  Norwegian,  to  the  home-remem- 
bered and  forest-covered  uplands. 

The  first  settlements  are  reasonably  made  about  the  great 
water-ways,  such  as  the  Columbia  and  Paget  Sound,  but  until 
the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  former  has  been  deepened,  and  a 
ship  canal  has  been  cut  around  its  cascades,  the  latter  will  at- 
tract the  trade  in  heavy  staples,  such  as  lumber  aijd  wheat,  and 
Washington  Territory  will  get  the  larger  number  of  settlers— just 
now  it  is  receiving  two-thirds  of  the  immigrants. 

The  Territory  is  quite  uneven,  tossed  into  ranges  named 
the  Rockies  on  the  east,  the  Cascades  through  the  center,  and 
the  Olympians  in  the  west,  answering  to  the  coast  range  further 

south. 

Mt.  St.  Helens,  described  in  a  previous  letter,  Mt.  Ranier 
near  the  head  of  the  Sound,  Mt.  Baker  in  the  extreme  north,  all 
in  the  Cascade  range,  and  Mt.  Olympus  in  the  west,  are  peaks 
conspicuous  not  alone  for  their  height,  but  especially  for  their 
isolation,  standing  as  they  do  almost  alone. 


72 


Mt.  Ranier,  14,444  feet  high,  is  quite  regular,  but  is  scarred 
and  seamed,  is  grand  and  grim,  very  difficult  of  ascent,  and  can 
be  seen  a  hundred  miles  and  more  away.  The  Tacomans  have 
re-christened  it  after  their  own  town,  but  the  new  baptismal 
name  is  not  recognized  outside  the  city  limits.  It  is  so  strik- 
ing in  altitude,  isolation,  and  outline,  it  so  challenges  the 
attention,  that  the  tourist  instinctively  turns  to  it,  even  when 
it  just  lifts  its  head  above  the  horizon,  as  he  does  to  the  central, 
figure  of  a  great  painting. 

The  Sound  is  a  beautiful  she(!t  of  wa^:er,  and  although  it  is 
but  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  long,  it  has  2,000  miles  of 
coast,  because  of  its  numerous  f.ords  and  channels.  Hood's 
Canal  cuts  into  the  land  with  a  ram's-horn' twist  15  miles.^ 
Place  the  spread  fingers  of  two  hands  upon  a  flat  surface, 
and  let  a  mark  be  made  close  about  them  ;  when  the  fingers 
are  removed,  the  outline  will  bear  some  resemblance  to  the  pro- 
jections of  land  and  the  firths  and  bays.  There  is  no  lack  of 
good  harhors  except  where  the  water  is  too  deep  and  the  shore 
is  rocky. 

Two  cities,  Tacoma  at  the  head  or  south  end  of  the 
Sound,  and  Seattle,  fifteen  miles  down  and  on  the  east  side  of 
it,  are  fierce  rivals;  the  latter  at  present,  having  the  lead  in 
enterprise  and  population. 

The  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  corporation  gives  the 
weight  of  its  powerful  influence  to  build  up  the  former,  its 
present  western  terminus,  and  the  town  has  a  phenomenal 
growth,  but  the  vim  and  push  of  the  old  Chinook  town,  Seattle, 
have  out-stripped  the  Tacomans  in  the  race.  They  have  a 
better  harbor,  and  are  nearer  the  coal  mines  and  lumber 
region. 

A  month  ago,  Tacoma  had  a  population  of  12,000,  and 
Seattle,  16,000;  but  such  is  the  influx  by  immigration  that  a 
census  remains  accurate  for  scarcely  a  week.  Ask  a  person  on 
the  street  for  directions  as  to  street  or  location,  and  in  two  out 


73 


of  three  instances  the  answer  will  be,  "  I  do  not  know,  I  have 
been  here  a  few  days  only."  Hotels  are  paying  investments, 
and  the  asking  prices  for  corner  lots  are  fabulous.  Money 
circulates  freely,  and  labor  commands  it  readily.  The  bustle 
and  rush,  and  daring  in  "taking  chances,"  would  surprise 
a  Chicagoan.  There  are  structures  in  both  places  that  would 
be  a  credit  to  any  city.  The  stranger  within  a  week,  catches 
the  spirit  of  the  place,  his  pulse  beats  faster,  he  too  quickens 
his  pace,  hurries,  he  knows  not  why,  to  and  from  his  meals, 
spends  his  last  minute  in  watching  the  surging  crowd,  or 
listening  to  the  illuminated  tale  of  a  real-estate  dealer,  and  then 
rushes  to  catch  the. train  out  of  town.  When  he  is  in  it,  he 
likes  the  feverish  intensity  that  characterizes  life  in  such  places, 
but  he  enjoys  the  calm  when  he  is  out  of  it,  and  contemplates 
it  at  a  distance. 

These  towns  harmonize  in  one  purpose,  that  of  turning  the 
commerce  of  eastern  Oregon  and  of  the  Territory  from  Port- 
land to  the  Sound;  and  that  juirpose  finds  some  fulfillment. 

Port  Townsend,  on  che  angle  of  land  where  the  Sound  and 
the  Straits  of  Juan  De  Fuca  unite,  is  also  presenting  its  claims 
as  the  coming  city.  It  has  a  capacious  harbor,  commands  the 
channel,  and  is  less  than  a  three  hours'  sail  from  Vancouver's 
Island.  The  fact  that  shrewd  business  men  are  putting  their 
money  into  substantial  improvements  for  the  town,  shows  what 
they  think  of  its  future  ;  and  two  railroad  corporations  have 
already  made  bids  for  accessible  water-fronts.  Nearly  all  the 
commerce  of  the  Sound  must  pass  this  gateway,  and  the  con- 
tiguous territories  are  beginning  to  pay  tribute  in  her  mart. 

Vancouver's  Island,  the  pearl  of  British  Columbia,  for  sixty 
miles  runs  parallel  with  the  northwest  coast  of  Washington 
Territory,  and  these  two  portions  of  land  include  between  them 
the  Strait,  the  great  channel  to  the  Pacific. 

And  right  here  we  pause  to  remark,  that  few  Americans, 
while  on  the  ground,  can  conten. plate  with  complacency,  the 


■,m 


'74 

fact  that  this  island  and  the  adjoining  province  are  governed 
by  a  foreign  power,  since  he  knows  that  it  belonged  to  us  by 
all  considerations  of  justice,  and  of  implied  treaty  stipulations, 
but  was  lost  to  us  through  the  ignorance,  stupidity,  and  coward- 
ice of  weak  politicians.  "Phifty-Phour-Phorty  or  Phight," 
was  the  sentiment  of  all  true  Americans,  but  the  party  which 
shouted  it  most  loudly  was  the  fi/.st  to  surrender. 

A  range  of  mountains  occuoies  a  large  part  of  the  island, 
leaving  patches  here  and  there  only,  fit  for  cultivation;  but  it 
has  the  finest  coaling  stations  on  the  coast  from  Mexico  to  the 
Arctic  Circle.  They  sue  Nanaimo  and  Wellington,  on  the  v/est 
side  of  the  island,  about  eighty  miles  from  Victoria.  The  coal  is 
semi-anthracite  in  character,  and  quite  free  from  impurities,  and 
American  steamers  pass  the  great  veins  of  Washington  Territory 
and  pay  an  extra  price  here  because  of  its  superior  quality. 

Victoria,  the  capital  and  metropolis  of  British  Columbia,  is 
the  gem  of  all  the  towns  of  the  Northwest,  in  location^  in  enter- 
prise, and  in  promise.  Her  commerce  embraces,  not  only  the 
whole  north  Pacific  coast,  but  extends  from  Japan  to  Montreal, 
New  York,  and  even  to  England.  Twenty  wholesale  firms  do 
business  on  her  streets,  and  the  old  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
still  rich  and  tyrannical,  has  one  of  its  chief  stations  here. 
It  is  a  great  entrepot  for  fish,  lumber,  and  furs,  and  points  with 
pride  to  the  large  number  of  its  Croesuses. 

"We  should  soon  be  a  dangerous  rival  to  San  Francisco, 
if  we  could  but  annex  the  Pacific  coast  to  British  Columbia," 
whispered  a  far-seeing  young  Victorian  facetiously,  and  so  they 
would,  for  they  are  800  miles  nearer  Japan  than  those  living 
within  the  Golden  Gate,  and  are  already  winning  the  lion's 
share  of  the  Oriental  trade. 

The  tea  trade  is  practically  their  own  now,  both  for  Canada 
and  a  large  pait  of  our  own  country.  English  ships  that  come 
around  the  Horn  for  salmon,  can  place  English  goods  on  the 
wharves  at  Victoria    without  duty,  and  at  a  small  advance  on 


the 
are 

tuou^ 
outer 

harbj 
fines! 


76 


the  original  cost,  so  that  most  articles  of  English  manufacture 
are  quite  as  cheap  there  as  in  Buffalo. 

The  enlrance  to  the  inner  harbor  is  long,  rocky,  and  tor- 
tuous, and  can  pass  ships  no  larger  than  2,000  tons,  but  its 
outer  harbor,  two  miles  away,  is  ample  for  ships  of  all  sizes. 

At  Esquimau,  five  miles  to  the  northwest,  there  is  a  better 
harbor,  and  the  dominion  government  has  just  completed  the 
finest  dry-dock  on  all  the  coast. 

The  population,  of  Victoria,  about  14,000,  is  chiefly 
Anglo-Saxon,  with  a  large  sprinkling  of  **  Celestials  "  and 
Indians. 

Here  one  notes  genuine  English  customs.  Business  men 
go  to  their  offices  at  nine  or  ten  in  the  morning,  and  leave  at 
four  for  their  homes,  real  English  homes,  standing  near  the 
center  of  large  grounds,  far  from  the  street,  walled  in,  and 
concealed  from  the  gaze  of  the  vulgar  by  shrubbery.  Here  the 
icy  Englishman  that  held  you  at  arm's  length  "on  Change," 
unbends,  and  gambols  like  a  boy. 

When  an  outside  barbarian  has  proved  himself,  or  has  come 
properly  introduced,  he  may  be  invited  within;  and  if  he  is 
thus  honored,  he  finds  to  his  surprise  that  the  truculent  mas- 
ter in  business  has  suffered  a  complete  metamorphosis,  and  that 
he  is  a  charming  host,  for  he  is  cordiality  itself,  and  dispenses 
with  a  liberal  hand. 

According  to  the  number  of  inhabitants,  such  families  are 
numerous,  and  being  educated  and  well-to-do,  and  this  being 
the  residence  of  governmental  officials,  society    is  of  a  higher 
order  of  intelligence  and  refinement  than    in   most  towns    of 
equal  size. 

As  children  they  received  their  education  in  EngUnd, 
hence,  English  customs  and  peculiarities  are  emphasized  by  the 
Victorians  as  they  are  by  colonists  generally.  But  constant 
intercourse  in  business  with  their  cousins  over  the  Straits  of 
Fuca,  and  the  irruption  of  Yankees  who  have  '*  come  to  stay," 


m 


S'ga 


^•'  -t'l  ' 


70 


are  gradually  working  a  change  in  the  ways  of  doing  things,  to 
the  disgust  of  the  staid  "  burghers."  The  younger  men  are 
trying  to  keep  step  with  their  intruders,  and  begin  to  consider 
annexation  not  an  unmitigated  evil,  although  as  yet  they  dis- 
cuss it  in  undertones. 

The  climate  is  cool,  but  quite  as  salubrious  as  that  of  any  in 
which  the  writer  ever  lived.  The  thermometer  rarely  rises  to 
80  degrees  in  summer,  and  does  not  often  descend  to  zero  in 
winter, — for  the  three  warm  months  of  the  year  it  registers 
about  70  during  the  day,  and  (10  for  the  night.  As  in  Alaska, 
the  Kuro  Siwo  accounts  for  the  comparatively  mild  winters. 
The  air  is  invigorating,  the  sun  is  out  daily,  and  from  a  sani- 
tary point  of  view  the  climate  is  considered  by  many  preferable 
to  that  of  California.  Wheat,  and  fruits  of  the  temperate 
zones,  rarely  fail  of  giving  good  returns,  and  the  city  is  in  a 
bed  of  flowers. 

There  are  many  pleasant  drives  into  the  surrounding 
country  in  which  one  gets  almost  a  surfeit  of  water  and  moun- 
tain views,  and  from  Beacon 'Hill,  rising  in  the  center  of  the 
Park,  there  is  a  fine  outlook  up  the  island  ;  east  into  the  main- 
land, where  Frazer's  River  has  carved  a  deep  passage  through 
the  Cascades  to  the  Gulf,  southeast  into  the  Territory  where 
Mt.  Baker,  with  hoary,  head,  looms  up  12,000  feet,  and  nearer, 
to  the  numerous  islands  at  the  foot  ofth,e  Sound,  among  which 
is  San  Juan,  the  possession  of  which  our  government  saved 
from  surrender  by  arbitration  ;  while  still  farther  south,  145 
miles  away  by  the  lines  of  sight,  is  grand  old  Ranier,  the  most 
commanding    of  all  the  peaks  of  this  coast. 

From  the  Park,  your  place  of  observation,  the  Strait  of 
Juan  DeFuca  stretches  away  to  the  south  and  west  tweniy-five 
miles  to  un almost  precipitous  wall, — a  range  known  farther  south 
as  the  Coast  Range,  but  here,  the  Olympian.  Conspicuous 
among  its  many  peaks  is  Mt.  Olympus,  outrivaling  his  ancient 
namesake,  for  he  hangs  his  regal  cap  of  snow  8,000  feet  in  air. 


ancf 

of 

is 


77 


and  wears  a  look  more  grim  and  awe-inspiring  than  the  throne 
of  "High-thundering  Jove"  in  Thessaly.  The  whole  range 
is  crowned  with  snow  till  snow  comes  again  in  autumn. 

Now  let  the  spectator  re-survey  the  views  from  Beacon  Hill: 
—at  his  back  is  a  pleasant  city;  all  around  him  is  a  long  sweep 
of  waters,  mountains  are  on  every  side  as  they  were  "round 
about  Jerusalem;"  from  three  different  points  of  the  compass 
great  isolated  peaks  stare  him  in  the  face,  while  across  the  Strait 
there  arises  the  abrupt  barrier  of  classic  name,  clothed  to  the 
foot  with  dark  evergreens  ;  the  Sierras  are  just  tipped  with  snow, 
and  that  edging  is  kindled  into  a  lambent  flame  by  the  setting 
sun, — this  whole  range  for  fifty  miles  thus  adorned,  and  lifted 
far  above  the  observer,  and  outlined  in  sharp  silhouette  on  a 
sky  of  pale  orange, — all  this,  with  the  surrounding  views  just  men- 
tioned, make  a  picture  that  can  never  fade  from  his  memory. 

"Beautiful   for    situation"     is   Victoria,    salubrious    is   its 
climate,  joyous  is  its  sunshine,  and  hospitable  are  its  people. 


A  LESSON  IN  GEOGRAPHY. 


The  Canadian  Panific  Railway  -  -  The  Selkirks  and 

the  Rockies  --  The  Great  Glacier  --  Banff--  Wheat 

Fields--  Winnipeg --  Fort  Garry  --  Legends. 


Isl 
thj 


Winnipeg,  Sf^ptember,  1888. 

For  scenic  beauty,  variety,  and  grandeur,  North  America 
may  challenge  comparison  with  any  other  grand  division  of  the 
globe.  There  are  no  rivals  to  the  canyons  of  the  Colorado,  or  to 
the  Yosemite,  or  to  the  geysers  of  the  Yellowstone,  and  in  no 
country  do  railroads  defy  such  chasms  as  the  Royal  Gorge  of 
the  Arkansas,  or  scale  such  heights  as  those  of  the  Marshall  and 
Veta  passes.  Our  neighbors,  across  our  northern  border,  stimu- 
lated no  doubt  by  the  daring  of  the  Yankees,  have  pushed  their 
continental  track  over  and  through  difficulties  that,  forty  years 
ago,  were  considered  insurmountable.  The  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  extends  from  the  Pacific  to  Montreal,  a  distance  of 
almost  3,000  miles.  Its  present  western  terminus  is  Vancouver 
which  has  grown,  in  two  years,  from  a  forest  to  a  city  of  5,000 
people,  and  its  inhabitants  have  shown  their  faith  in  the  future 
of  the  town  by  erecting  numerous  fine  public  and  private  build- 
ings, notable  for  size,  solidity,  and  comeliness.  Steamers  load- 
ing and  discharging  cargoes  to  and  from  the  ports  of  Puget 
Sound,  San  Francisc  .nd  Japan,  frequent  her  harbor,  Burrard's 
Inlet,  and  in  her  warehouses  are  teas,  silks,  fish,  and  furs  from 
distant  seas  and  lands.  Swift  steamers  ply  between  the  docks 
and    Victoria,    the   capital   of  the  province,    on    Vancouver's 


70 


Island,  eighty  miles  away;  so  that  the  latter  city  shares  with  this 
the  honor  and  the  advantage  of  being  the  western  terminus  of 
the  railway. 

Leaving  Vancouver  for  its  trans-continental  journey,  'he 
train  winds  along  Frazer's  River,  sometimes  hanging  out  over  it 
two  hundred  feet  below.  The  stream  is  quite  rapid,  although 
navigable  for  a  hundred  miles,  and  as  turbid  as  the  Pactolus, 
and  for  the  same  reason,  since  gold-hunters  are  boring  the  moun- 
tains, or  with  great  jels  are  washing  away  the  hills  along  its 
banks,  and  the  yellow  sediment  tinges  the  Gulf  of  Georgia 
fifteen  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river.  On  our  pathway  we 
pass  numerous  hamlets,  each  regarded  as  the  embryo  of  a  future 
metropolis,  and  rejoicing  in  unpronouncabie  names,  some 
foreign,  but  more  Indian,  and  confused  with  Babel  tongues; 
and  in  eighteen  hours  from  Vancouver,  we  reach,  on  a  plateau 
of  the  Selkirks,  Kamloops,  a  town  of  1,000  Scotch,  Indians,  and 
Chinamen,  and  a  sprinkling  of  as  many  other  nationalities  as 
there  are  in  San  Francisco.  The  soil  of  this  plateau  is  rich, 
and  wherever  irrigation  is  practicable,  wheat  and  fruits  flourish. 
It  is  also  a  fine  grazing  country,  since  bunch-grass  clothes 
all  the  glades  and  hills;  hence,  Kamloops,  from  its  situation 
and  resources,  has  become  the  center  of  supplies  for  the  vast 
mineral  and  lumber  regions  of  the  interior  of  the  province. 
Here  also  is  an  old  station  of  the  omnipresent  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  whose  agents  always  selected  the  most  favorable 
places  for  trade  and  supplies,  and  the  Company  still  holds  them 
despite  the  enactments  of  Imperial  and  Dominion  Parliaments. 
The  Thompsop  River  traverses  this  table-land  for  fifty- 
miles,  expanding  in  several  places  into  lakes  bordered  by  trees, 
or  skirting  along  by  prairies,  glades,  and  farms,  giving  the 
whole  scene  the  appearance  of  a  vast  park.  Now  set  this  neat 
little  town  on  a  gently-sloping  bank  of  a  tiny  lake,  and  the 
park  in  a  frame  of  grass-covered  hills  and  distant  mountains, 
and  you  have  a  picture  which  for  softness  and  scenic  beauty  has 
scarcely  a  rival  in  all  the  Dominion. 


1  ^1 


80 


Leaving  this  "  Sweet  Auburn  "  and  "  Vale  of  Cashmere  " 
in  one,  we   '■  .gin  to  climb  the   Selkirks,  a  range  of  mountains 
scarcely  recognized  even  in  our  modern  geographies  ;  they  are, 
however,  stubborn    facts,  presenting  a  barrier  to  railway  build- 
ing quite  as  formidable  as  that  of  the  Rockies  farther  east.  Up, 
up  we  creep,  two  great  mogul  engines  snorting   with  the  effort, 
and  awaking   echoes  in  the  glens  that  heretofore  have  been  dis- 
turbed only  by  the  cry  of  the  panther,  or  the  scream  of  the  eagle, 
up  above  the  timber-line,  up  among  dizzy  peaks  where  ice  has 
smothered  every  vestige   of  life,  and  frost  is  king.     How  pure 
the   air,   how    wide   the    expanse   of    glittering    Sierras    and 
evergreen    forests,   how    free    and    unfettered    the  soul,     save 
that   sublimity    and    grandeur  domina. ^    all     the     emotions! 
Winding  along  the  sides  of  thei  peaks,  and  traversing  the  glens 
of  these  upper  regions,  we  just  graze  the  base  of  Sir  Donald,  a 
pyramidal  monolith,  towering  a  mile  and  half  above  the  track, 
and,  turning  a  sharp  curve,  v  e  come  face  to  face  with  the  Great 
Glacier  of  the   Selkirks.     This  is  said  to  be  1,200  feet  thick, 
a  mile  or  more  in  width,  and  to  have  its  origin  far  back  among 
the  Sierras.     Although  it  looms  up  a  formidable  barrier  at  first 
sight,  its   surface    is   accessible,    and    can  be    safely    traversed. 
By  the   side    of  the   track,  a  mile   from   the    forefoot  of  the 
glacier,  is  a  pretty  little  hotel  modeled  after  a   Swiss  chalet, 
frequented  by  Englishman  and  Canadians  ambitious  for  moun- 
tain climbing ',    and   by   young   women   of  rosy   cheeks   and 
masculine  stride  who  also  sport  scrip  and  Alpenstock.     From 
this  little  pocket  in  the   mountains  our  pathway  doubles  upon 
itself  many   times  as  it  climbs   the    valley  of  "the   Illicilliwaet 
River,  a  turbulent  stream,  past  great  glaciers,  Titanic  walls  and 
naked    peaks  of  basalt,  to  the  gateway  of  the  range,    guarding 
which  is  Cheops,  a  pyramidal  peak    of  massive  masonry,    and 
just  over  the  Illicilliwaet,  Ross  Peak,  symmetrical  in  form,  and 
bearing  an  immense  glacier  on  its  eastern  slope.     This  is  the 
great  pass  of  the  Selkirks,  and  the  outlook  ought  to  be  very 


81 


broad,  but,  to  our  disappointment,  it  is  obstructed  by  thick- 
clustering  mountains.  Hence,  eastward  we  go,  shooting 
tunnels  and  snow-sheds,  thundering  over  bridges,  one  of  which 
is  295  feet  above  the  streaui,  aud  Hying  in  our  downward 
course  along  mountain  sides  in  mazy  loops,  and  in  sight  of 
numerous  noted  peaks,  bare,  and  bristling  to  the  right  and  left 
on  the  range,  we  suddenly  drop  into  the  valley  of  the  Colum- 
bia, a  res[)ectable  stream  even  at  this  point,  more  than  a 
thousand  miles  from  its  mouth, — here  on  foreign  soil,  and 
almost  as  far  north  of  the  49th  parallel,  as  Astoria,  where  its 
waters  pour  into  the  Pacific,  is  south  of  that  line.  Here  we 
again  find  patches  of  arable  land,  and  a  softer  air  ;  but  not  long 
do  we  tarry  in  the  lowlands,  for  there  lies  acres  our  course  a 
barrier  that,  with  few  breaks,  spans  this  Western  World  from 
the  Arctics  to  the  Straits  of  Magellan  ;  and  again  we  begin  to 
ascend,  first  up  the  gorge  cut  by  the  Kicking  Horse, a  rapid  and 
noisy  river,  quite  as  large  as  the  Genesee  at  Rochester.  Again 
two  ponderous  mogul  engines  tug  at  our  train,  and  for  five 
hours,  we  "  drag  our  slow  length  along,"  making  only  about 
fifteen  miles  an  hour.  After  six  hours  of  stern  battle  with 
gravity,  we  come  off  victorious,  and  our  faithful  moguls  shake 
great  drops  of  sweat  from  their  panting  sides,  and  take  breath 
in  the  dry  cool  air  of  the  summit. 

We  are  on  the  dividing  line  of  the  Rockies.  Back  of  us 
is  British  Columbia,  which  we  are  about  to  leave,  forward  are 
the  lessening  peaks  that  point  the  way  to  the  vast  prairies  of 
British  America.  Above  us  soars  Mt.  Stephen,  thrusting  his  bald 
gray  head  three  miles  into  the  cold  blue  ether.  Clustering 
around,  other  peaks  scarcely  inferior  in  altitude,  bearing  such 
names  as  Field,  Cathedral,  King  and  Deville,  peer  over  into  the 
pass  and  look  down  upon  our  train.  A  few  rods  from  the  sta- 
tion the  melting  snows  trickle  down,  now  on  this  side  toward 
the  Columbia  and  the  Pacific,  and  now  to  the  east  into  the 
Saskatchawan,  Hudson's  Bay  and  the  Atlantic, — a  narrow  line 


on  the  ridge  of  the  water-shed  for  the  two  oceai  s.  A  child 
with  little  mud-dikes,  could  direct  much  of  it  east  or  west  at 
will.  Here  our  moguls  part  company, — one  goes  tearing  dov/n 
.  the  gorges  to  the  Columbia  again,  the  other  propelled  almost 
by  gravity  alone,  guides  us  in  its  flight  down  the  eastern  slopes, 
skirting  the  mountains  in  cork-scr?w  loops  and  curves,  past 
peaks  named  and  nameless,  over  dark  chasms,  through  tunnels 
whose  breath  is  smoke,  and  snow-sheds  more  stuffy  than 
tunnels,  along  the  bottom  of  weird  gorges  where  frothy 
streams  dispute  the  passage  of  the  road, — down,  down  through 
ppace  in  a  dizzy  whirl,  and  ^ieing  with  Jupiter  Tonans  in  awful 
roar;  so  our  iron  horse,  with  compressed  lips  and  ^(  losed 
nostrils  and  without  puff  or  snort,  leaped  down  the  Rockies 
among  tb*"  foot-hills  and  into  the  National  Park,  and  halted  in 
front  of  the  far-famed  Hotel  Banff.  Now  that  the  tension  was 
removed,  we  caught  our  breath  once  more,  and  settled  into 
our  seats,  for  had  we  not  been  shot  out  of  the  sky? 

There  has  been  little  attempt  to  improve  the  Park.  Cen- 
turies ago,  nature  saved  all  that  trouble  and  expense,  by 
diversifying  it  wiih  mountains  of  no  mean  magnitude,  several 
peaks  being  from  eight  to  t^n  thousand  feet  in  height,  with 
well-rounded  hills  from  whose  tops,  easily  reached,  there  ran 
be  had  far-away  views,  with  healing  springs,  one  of  which  is 
regarded  a  real  Bethesda,  with  gravel-bedded  streams  and  lakes 
teeming  with  fish,  with  glades  and  meadows  and  surprises  in 
uncounted  numbers.  Its  atmosjihere  has  the  purity  and  vigor 
of  the  mountains,  softened  from  its  severity  among  the  glaciers, 
and  is  so  conducive  to  repose  that  nervous  people,  in  a  few 
weeks,  are  said  to  regain  tone  and  almost  unlimited  capacity 
for  sleep.  (This  statement  did  not  abate  anything  from  the 
writer's  hotel  bill.)  Doubtless  some  old  crofter  from  the  Skye 
or  the  Hebrides  named  it  from  his  ancestral  home,  for  there  is 
a  Banff  among  tht  islands  of  the  western  coast  of  Scotland. 
Quoting    from    the   guide-book,    which,    for   once,  does   not 


so 

villj 

surii 

onej 

moi 


83 


so  exaggerate  that  one  does  not  recognize  the  place, — the 
village  of  Banff  is  4,500  feel  above  the  sea-line.  All  the 
surroundings  of  forest  and  glade  and  mountain  dispose 
one  to  repose, — they  all  whisper  "rest."  It  really  is  one  of  the 
most  charming  resorts  in  all  the  Dominion. 

But  Buffalo,  whose  streets  we  have  noi  trodden  for  six 
months,  is  beckoning  us,  and  in  obedience  to  the  call,  onward 
and  downward  we  still  go.  till,  among  the  last  of  the  foot-hills 
we  reach  the  bright  little  town  Calgary,  the  most  important  we 
have  seen  since  we  left  Vancouver.  It  is  situated  on  a  hill-girt 
plateau  overlooked  by  the  white  peaks  of  the  Rockies,  and  in 
curn  It  looks  down  uj^on  the  grassy  plains  eastward.  It  i?  the 
center  of  traffic  for  great  ranches,  the  entrepot  for  supplies  for 
the  lumber  and  mining  districts  in  the  mountains,  has  a  station 
for  the  mounted  police  of  the  province,  a.id  a  post  of  the  all- 
grasping  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

Here  we  part  company  with  our  tired  mogul,  and  under 
the  lead  of  a  trim  and  fresh-looking  racer,  we  soon  arrive  at 
the  head  waters  of  the  Jask,  tchawan  and  look  out  upon  prairies 
which,  for  com]>ass,  have  no  equal  in  North  America ; — 
bounded  for  fifteen  liundred  miles  on  the  west  by  the  Rockies, 
and  stretching  eastward  a  thousand. 

The  provinces  bordering  on  the  foot-hilis,  and  reaching 
northward  into  the  basin  of  the  Macker  >ie,  are  grazing-grounds 
for  the  countless  beeves  and  horses  that  are  destined  to  make 
the  Dominion  master  in  the  markets,while  to  the  east  and  south, 
the  provinces  of  Alberta,  Saskatchawan,  Assiniboia,  and  Mani- 
toba, are  vast  wheat  fields,  each  a  rival  of  our  own  Dakota. 

Regina  is  soon  reached,  the  capital  of  Assiniboia,  and  the 
point  for  the  distribution  of  sui)plies  for  the  provinces  north 
and  south;  and  here  also,  is  another  station  for  mounted  police 
who  are  often  judge,  jury,  and  sheriff  on  horseback,  and  hold  in 
check  the  restive  Indians,  some  of  whom  had  a  share  in  the  Riel 
rebellion.     Day  and  night  we  skim  over  the  flowery  prairies, 


f 


'  ^1 


84 


leaving  in  ilie  rear,  ranches  and  villages,  the  iionies  of  cattle- 
kings, — a  vast  expanse  ot  treeless  plain.  And  yet,  monotony 
docs  not  reign  supreme,  for  here  and  there  are  ponds  frequented 
by  water-fowl,  a  belt  of  undulations  resembling  waves,  a  herd  of 
antelo|)es,  a  lone  house,  or  station,  on  the  wind-swept  waste, 
experimental  farms  cultivated  by  the  railway  company  to  exhibit 
the  capabilities  of  the  soil,  and  miles  of  ripening  grain  stretch- 
ing forward,  and  on  each  side  of  the  track  away  beyond  the 
ken  of  the  sharpest  eye,  and  broken  only  by  a  station,  an  eleva- 
tor, or  a  village.  The  tireless  engine  still  descending — for  we 
are  in  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Saskatchawan — sweeps  on  past 
(^'Appelle,  the  seat  of  the  late  rebellion,  and  now  of  a  flourish- 
ing Indian  mission,  past  Brandon,  the  grain-center  for  two 
provinces,  past  Indian  Head, — where,  on  Bell's  farm  of  one 
hundred  square  miles,  plowing  in  furrows  four  miles  long, 
was  being  done  by  brigades, — on  through  towns  and  villages, we 
have  not  space  to  name,  till  we  reach  the  historic  town,  Winni- 
peg, a  place  we  have  long  desired  to  visit.  This  is  an  enter- 
prising and  beautiful  city  of  25,000  people,  two-thirds  of  whom 
are  of  French,  English  and  Scotch  origin,  and  the  one-third 
are  Indians  and  half-bieeds.  '  It  is  situated  on  a  prairie,  yellow 
with  flowers,  at  the  junction  of  the  Red  and  Assiniboine  rivers, 
both  navigable,  is  twenty  miles  from  the  lake  from  which  it 
takes  its  r«ame,  has  radways  radiating  in  several  directions,  by 
which  it  commands  the  trade  of  the  vast  North  and  Northwest, 
has  an  important  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  the 
principal  offices  for  the  sale  of  railway  lands  in  the  different 
provinces.  It  is  handsomely  built  of  brick,  and  of  a  yellow 
limestone,  mottled  and  variegated  with  fantastic  figures, — has 
street- railroads,  electric  lights,  great  flouring-mills  and  eleva- 
tors, a  fine  court-house,  a  gaily-adorned  postcffice,  large  stores, 
and  numerous  other  notable  buildings,  among  which  are  the 
parliament  house  and  governor's  residence.  The  extremes  of 
civilization  meet  without  exciting   surprise  in  this  quaint  city; 


85 


moccasins,  striped  faces,  and  blanketed  men,  attract  little  more 
attention  than  high-heeled  shoes,  Parisian  bonnets,  or  the  Eng- 
lishman adjusting  his  monocular.  Quaintest  of  all  vehicles  is 
the  Red  River  cart,  in  the  construction  of  which  not  an  ounce 
of  iron  fmds  a  place, — that  metal,  as  late  as  1826,  sold  for  one 
dollar  a  poimd.  It  is,  as  its  name  signifies,  two-wheeled,  built 
wholly  of  wood,  with  heavy  felloes,  spokes  and  shafts.  Neces- 
sity devi^-ed  it,  and  it  has  ^'filled  the  bill"  for  eighty-seven 
years,  since  it  is  better  adapted  to  the  soft,  yielding  soil  of  the 
prairies  than  the  iron-bound  wheel  of  modern  times.  A  single 
s*eer.,  harnessed  and  driven  as  we  do  a  horse, is  the  motive  jiower. 
Bcfoie  the  advent  of  railways,  Winnipegers  made  pilgrimages 
in  these  carts  to  St.  Paul,  five  hundred  miles  south,  consuming 
weeks  in  the  journey,  taking  down  furs,  and  bringing  back 
comforts  for  their  homes.  An  iron  bridge  over  the  Red  River 
leads  to  an  odd  little  Fren(  h  village,  St.  Boniface,  noted  for  its 
cathedral,  and  because  the  archiepiscopal  residence  of  Prince 
Rupert's  I^nd  is  located  here.  The  cathedral  is  of  cream- 
colored  brick,  (juite  plain,  in  both  exterior  and  interior  finish, 
and  has  a  chime  of  three  sweet-toned  bells.  Who  wrote  the 
poem  entitled  "The  Silver  Chimes  of  Boniface"?  The  church- 
yard is  nearly  filled  with  graves,  and  most  of  the  inscriptions 
are  in  French,  several  of  which  terminate  with  R.  I.  P.  The 
see-house  is  embowered  in  trees,  and  th<»  grounds  are  lighted 
up  with  a  profusion  of  flowers.  Archbis'lfR>p  I'eche,  the  present 
incumbent,  is  fat  and  fifty,  an<1  arrays  hiim^-f  in  a  purple  cas- 
sock, bordered  with  ji<M.  but  otherwise,  without  ornament. 
He  is  always  welcomed  vri%^rever  he  c^rri^s  his  genial  face. 
In  the  extreme  nortliern  p4t#t  f/f  the  cttf  is  an  old  English 
cathedral,  founded  ii  \€  turly  ^t  of  tiuf  r/eniury.  Building 
and  surrounding  y  ''■  /^///  /^<eniOfi .  are  *  %(ioA  type  of  a 
country  church  in  i  '  /    <»<|l. 

As  early  as    Xl'^i.  S/crtA  ^k^k^,  *  WjiWeman  of  Scotland, 
became   deeply  inittm^ti  im  tlK»  '*iV<*rfHion  of  the   Highland 


86 


peasantry  who  had  been  evicted,  and  forthwith  began  to  look 
about  for  lands  in  the  New  World  on  which  to  colonize  them; 
but  it  was  not  until  1812  that  a  permanent  settlement  was  made 
on  the  Red  River,  the  place  selected.  The  Hudson's  Hay 
Company  claim  that  they  had  a  fort  there  in  17J)f5,  and  hence, 
they  regarded  the  Scotch  immigrants  as  intruders. 

Tiie  site  of  the  "Old  Selkirk  Settlement"  is  north  some 
twenty  miles,  near  Lake  Winnipeg,  but  the  location  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Red  and  Assiniboine  Rivers  was  thought  to  be  a 
more  favorable  one,  and  hence  the  present  site  of  W^innipeg 
has  been  occupied  with  an  increasing  number  of  whites  for 
seventy-five  years,  although  in  1870  the  population  was  only 
about  a  hundred.  Fort  Garry  was  its  earlier  name,  and  a  crumb- 
ling gateway  just  off  one  of  the  principal  streets  of  the  city, 
and  traces  of  walls,  mark  the  spot  where  there  has  been  more 
than  one  siege,  and  repulse,  and  capitulation.  This  gateway  is 
a  high  arch  of  yellow  limestone,  having  two  heavy  valves  or 
gates  of  wood,  a  look-out.  a  platform  for  cannon  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  arch,  and  loop-holes  for  musketry  ;  and  near  it  are 
traces  of  a  bastion.  It  is  a  very  striking  and  interesting  ruin, 
and  some  day  the  Winnipegers  will  regret  the  total  destruction 
of  Fort  Garry  ;  and  suffer  us  to  add  here,  Buffalonians,  the 
demolition  of  Fort  Porter. 

The  origin  of  Indian  names  and  traditions  generally 
awakes  an  interest,  in  the  tourist,  and  those  ot  the  tribes  in 
Canada  are  no  exceptions, — one  of  each  must  suffice.  Tribes 
living  near  gave  name  to  the  Assiniboines  from  one  of  their 
customs.  They  do  most  of  their  cooking  by  dropping  hot 
stones  into  vessels  containing  their  food,  immersed  in  water ; 
hence  they  were  called  assini,  (stone),  and  boine,  (men), 
stone-men, or  Assiniboines.  Manitoba  is  from  Man itou, the  Great 
Spirit,  and  ba,  pronounced  in  a  low  tone,  whispering.  The 
name  was  applied  in  this  way  :  Along  the  banks  of  the  channel 
which  connects  the  two   lakes,  great  and  little  Manitoba,  are 


M 


87 


numberless  flakes  of  thin  slate  which,  when  struck,  emit  a  me- 
tallic or  tinkling  sound.  When  the  south  wind  stirs  the  waters 
of  this  passage,  these  little  flakes  are  rubbed  against  eac:h  other 
and  give  forth  low  musical  sounds,  varied  according  to  the 
size  of  the  fragments  ;  and  these  tones  are  interpreted  by  the 
Indians  to  be  the  whisperings  of  the  Great  Manitou,  or 
Manito-ba. 


